Summary: Tunuri is a young boy who wanders off during a journey with his family and becomes lost. While lost a magical blue deer appears and leads Tunuri to meet the important nature gods around him. He learns that he is never really alone and that he and the world are connected.

Reflection: Very nice Native Mexican tale. Traditional yarn art from the Huichol Indians create the illustrations. Could be used to teach about different cultures and art. ( )

A friend posted a photograph of a beautiful quilt — white with stylized figures, animals and plants. Give what I know about her family, I took a guess and decided to limit my search to indigenous groups in the south western corner of North America.

The closet thing I found was the yarn paintings of the Huichol people. They live in the Sierra Madre mountain region of Mexico and their sacred imagery has been an influence on Mexican arts and crafts. I don't know if my friend's quilt is also from the area; nor do I know if she ever did find an expert to properly appraise her quilt.

But in the process of trying to learn what I could about the quilt, I came across The Journey of Tunuri and the Blue Deer by James Endredy. It's the story of a young boy who is separated from his family and the spirit journey he ends up taking.

Tunuri on realizing he's no longer with his family begins to panic. It's then that a beautiful blue deer meets him and offers to take him back to his family. Along the way the deer introduces him to the various nature spirits that are part of Huichol way.

The illustrations were done by two Huichol artists. They worked eight to ten hours a day until every piece was complete. The finished pieces are actually for sale. ( )

Retelling of a Huichol folktale with a good source note on how the art was created, what the sacred symbols are, and what the author changed from the "original" version-this explanation will sit well with adults who are aware of the importance of such notes in folktales. Unique and authentic illustrations and text. ( )

Tunuri gets lost and goes on an adventure with Blue Deer and realizes his connection to the earth. He learns that he is connected to everything and if he remembers that everyday he will always be happy. This isn't a creation myth, but rather a legend to remind you that we are all apart of the same world. ( )

I am a textile artist myself, and I actually fell in love with the yarn art of the Huichol on a trip to Mexico earlier this year. I was able to bring a small tile of the incredibly labor-intensive art form with the artist's explanation written on the back. I was so very excited to find this book at my library when I was searching for books to include in my lesson plan for an integrated arts course. I was so captivated by the art itself so I really appreciated a chance to learn more about the symbolism and the role of the characters in the tales so important to the culture. There was just one classmate of mine that showed a real interest in the gorgeous art form, but that was enough to make me feel like I had done my job to allow it to inspire someone else. The folktale in the book is a great read as well, but it is really worth just looking at for the art alone.