The Stone Cutter and the Navajo Maiden »

In the deep, deep Dinetah lives a young Navajo maiden named Cinnibah. She looks after her widowed father, and every day she grinds corn into flour to make their bread. To do so, she uses a metate - an ancient grinding stone that has been passed down in her family for generations. When Cinnibah accidentally shatters the metate, she sets out on a journey to find someone who can help her mend the stone. Her quest brings her to a Moccasin Maker, a Potter, and, finally, the mysterious Stone Cutter. Will he be willing to help her?

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3

This bilingual story introduces readers to an important artifact in Navajo culture, the metate, or grinding stone. Cinnibah, a motherless girl, accidentally breaks her heirloom metate while her father is away and sets off alone in search of someone who can fix it. On her daylong journey, she encounters a moccasin maker, a pottery maker, and finally a stonecutter, all of whom help her by using their skills. In addition to making new friends, Cinnibah learns about the sacredness of the stone and retires her old one according to custom. Navajo words are carefully woven into the English text. Though the dialogue is somewhat stilted, the descriptive text is often richly poetic: "Ravens played their flutes and wrens blew kisses and whistled among the trees." The rural setting through which she travels seems almost timeless. Warm, impressionistic pastel and oil illustrations skillfully capture the desert landscape. Overall, this is a satisfying story depicting an important event in the life of a Navajo girl.-Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library