Although Salmonberry's mother warns her to return to their village before dark, in order to avoid Basket Woman - a fearsome giant said to haunt the beach, and make off with naughty children, in order to roast and eat them - the young Makah girl convinces herself, and her friends, that there is nothing to worry about. When the children are all kidnapped as a result, it falls to Clamshell Boy - who rises out of the clam upon which Salmonberry's mother is weeping - to rescue them, tricking Basket Woman, and luring her to her own destruction...

This folktale from the Makah people of Neah Bay, Washington is the second entry in the Native American Legends series that I have read, after First Woman and the Strawberry: A Cherokee Legend, by Gloria Dominic, and follows the same format, presenting the tale first, and following it with a brief factual introduction to the people from which it came. I was really quite disappointed to see that the latter focuses exclusively on the historical Makah, rather than their present-day descendants, although this isn't that uncommon, in children's books about Native Americans. The story itself was interesting, although I would have preferred to know what source the author used, in telling it.

All in all, Clamshell Boy was a pleasant, but unremarkable read, with appealing, but slightly generic stylized illustrations. If it sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise, I am: this was a fairly low three stars for me. Enough to convince me to try some of Terri Cohlene's other folkloric retellings (I have them all checked out of the library, at the moment), but somehow, not entirely satisfactory either. ( )

Salomberry mother tells her and the other children not to be out to late because Basketwomen will get them. The children did not believe Basketwomen was real so they played until sun down. Once the sun went down the children noticed a very large women who they have never seen before, it was Basketwomen. Salomberry’s mother finds a magic shell that turns into a boy. The boy was called Clamshell Boy and he went off to find Salomberry and the other children. Once he found the Basketwomen he killed her and when to her house to rescue the children. Clamshell boy might his sister and then returned all the children home safely.

I liked this story a lot. It is a legend but it shows how children should obey because their parents are just looking out for them. This story also gives a possible way of how potlatch in the Makah started.

In the classroom, I might ask the students to come up with a different version of the legend that would apply in today’s world. We could also have a potlatch and the students can celebrate doing well in school or they could each give one reason why they think is a good reason to celebrate.