How Raven Brought Light to People is a mischievous story about a raven who tricks a great chief into giving him the sun, moon, and stars by turning himself into a pine needle and then a baby born to the chief’s daughter. It also explains why ravens are black. The story is playful and traditional and the illustrations support this through color and supporting details. This is a great story to include in place-based literacy in the classroom.
Alaskan Connections: raven, Alaskan Native culture, nature
Activity: invite elders to come to the classroom to tell this story, explore the science of the moon, sun, and stars ( )

In this folktale, darkness covers the earth until the trickster Raven finds a way to open three boxes containing the sun, moon, and stars which belong to a great chief. Detailed colored pencil drawings lend to the authenticity of this book. ( )

How the raven brought light to the Earth and the southeastern Tlingit community of Alaska. He uses trickery to tricks the great chief who holds the sun, moon and stars by posing as a baby and later reveals the box by flying it to the skies to set the sun free. ( )

Fiction: Picture Book
Dixon, Ann How Raven Brought Light to People. Illust. by James Watt. Macmillan, 1992. Unp. Primary/Intermediate
Raven tricks a great chief who holds the sun, moon, and stars captive by pretending to be a baby in this charming adaptation of a Tlingit legend. Lovely, detailed pictures accompany the narrative, flowing text with authentic Tlingit clothing and housing styles of centuries past. Theme is sharing.
AK: Tlingit culture, Raven
Activity: Ask children what they think of Raven and what he did. ( )

How the Raven Brought Light to People is a great myth told by the Tlingit Indians of southeastern Alaska. It tells how the light of the earth came about and how the raven is the one that shared it with the people of the earth.

It is a very creative piece that would be useful in a lesson to teach about cultural myths and how cultural myths use parts of their culture in writing the myth.