Old Meshikee and the Little Crabs
Subtitle: An Ojibwe Story
By: retold by Michael Spooner and Lolita Taylor; illustrated by John Hart.
Contributors: John Hart (Illustrator)
Edition: 1st edition
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York, USA
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 26
ISBN-13: 9780805034875
Subjects: Ojibwa Indians -- Folklore; Turtles -- Great Lakes Region (North America) -- Folklore; Sand-crabs -- Great Lakes Region (North America) -- Folklore; Ojibwa Indians -- Folklore; Indians of North America -- Folklore; Folklore -- North America
Genres: Folklore.
First sentence: Far in the north, near the Great Water of the Ojibwe people, Old Meshikee spends the summer on an island in the middle of a little lake.
Description: In this playful retelling of a traditional Ojibwe folktale, Michael Spooner and Lolita Taylor have captured the spirit of the mischievous, lovable trickster turtle, Old Meshikee.

Old Meshikee plays his big old drum so loudly that the little sand crabs, the Shagizenz, can't hear themselves think -- let alone dance. Drastic measures are called for, and the frantic crabs decide to get rid of Old Meshikee once and for all. But that's more difficult to do than they'd hoped, because it's not for nothing that Old Meshikee got to be so big and so old.

John Hart's wryly funny illustrations add a comic edge to this authentically told tale in which quick thinking and fast talking ensure that Old Meshikee lives to play his drum another day.
Notes: Source note at end of book.
Description from book cover.