Jerrie Oughton's How The Stars Fell Into The Sky

How the Stars Fell into the Sky is a Navajo legend penned by Jerrie Oughton and illustrated by Lisa Desimini for publication in 1992. The tale begins with a conversation between two characters-First Woman and First Man-about how to give the laws to the people in a way that they will always see and have them. First Man tells First Woman to set them in the sky for all to see and she begins to do so. A coyote comes along and offers his assistance with the long task, but he loses his patience and flings the stars into the sky. And so, the story tells us, the people lived on in confusion because of the coyote’s careless actions (Oughton). The story is rather vague, even by the standards of a children’s story. What the reader is presented with already

In one scene, when First Man turns back and looks at First Woman kneeling next to the blanket of stars, their gender differences become strikingly clear, to the point that this one illustration seems almost out of place (Oughton 10-11). First Man seems so much stronger. His face is turned to her with his jaw jutting proudly into the distance. His rounded, boyish figure is replaced with sharper features. First Women, however, seems so much softer. Her soft lips are drawn into a thin smile. Her neck seems thinner. Her arms match the proportions of her body, giving her overall appearance more femininity. She is no longer as stocky and sharp. Her breasts are even very clearly defined. For this one scene, it is as if we are looking at two lovers, separated quite literally by the stars. But then, First Man leaves. First Woman changes after this moment. Her appearance, though not quite as dramatically, continues to be more feminine for the duration of the tale. When compared to the very first illustration of her, First Woman’s features subtly become softer and her body more defined. The implication here is that First Woman is more of a woman without First Man around. When First Man is there, she gives him her entire identity. Following the first one, it is safe to say that this book has less-than-credible-historical accuracy and while this may lead the reader to believe that the Navajo are a male dominated society, the reality of that should be determined through careful research beyond this