Boy of the Painted Cave

by Justin Denzel

Overview

Tao is an outcast. Unlike the great hunters of his clan, Tao does not want to kill the wild bears or woolly mammoths of the hunt. Instead he wants only to paint them. But only Chosen Ones can be cave painters. What's more, Volt, the clan leader, violently despises Tao. And when the other clan members discover Tao's secret talent, they cast him out into the wilderness alone. There, he befriends a wild wolf dog named Ram, and the mysterious Graybeard, who teaches him the true secret of the hunt.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698113770
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/16/1996
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	371,625
Product dimensions:	4.94(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Justin Denzel has been intrigued with history and caves for many years. As a young man he worked at the American Museum of Natural History, where he studied prehistoric cultures. Later, while training for the Army in the days before World War II, he explored the mammoth underground caves of Tennessee.

Mr. Denzel's first professional writing experience came in Alaska, where he wrote and edited a periodical, The Alaskan. During World War II he wrote for Nature magazine and for Stars and Stripes.

Mr. Denzel is the author of many books for young readers, including the well-loved Boy of the Painted Cave, published in 1988 by Philomel. He lives in Clifton, New Jersey, with his wife, Josephine.

copyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

Editorial Reviews

Strongly reminiscent of Ann Turner's recent Time of the Bison , this too is a beautifully written story about an artistic prehistoric boy. Adopted as an infant by the kind old woman Kala, Tao does not know his father. His mother, Kala tells him, gave him his gift for seeing beauty``the thing that makes you different from others.'' Determined to paint, despite the taboo against it, Tao is gradually cast from the clan. Now on the outside, he begins to view their superstitions skeptically: demons do not dwell in the forbidden slough, after all; and the wolf dog, Ram, despised by the clan, becomes Tao's devoted friend. This is an exciting, fabulously descriptive story set against violent times. Denzel's knowledge of the Stone Age enhances the action; moreover, with his tender, somewhat melancholy insights into ostracism and loyalty, he transcends the period. Ages 8-12. (September)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly