In a few weeks I’m starting a unit for my third graders in which we’ll study the science of various landforms (at a very basic level–in our last unit I had multiple students draw rivers than ran around the borders of oceanic islands, so we’ve working on some definitional stuff here). At the same time, we’ll be reading myths and legends about land forms; students will finish the unit by writing their own myth or legend about a specific landform.
What I’m looking for are myths or legends that I can give kids access to. I have some funds for ordering books.
Here’s what would be ideal:
-Specific book titles are better than general myths (I know about the ice-cow that was buddies with Ymir, but I don’t know a picture book about this story, for example).
-Stories from around the world are great: I know about Mt. Atlas, but I don’t know much about stories about African mountains.
-Books that are appropriate for third-graders is an absolute must.
-The landforms we’ll talk about include mountains, volcanoes, valleys, canyons, caves, and islands. Stories that focus on these landforms are perfect.
-If you include a URL where it can be found for sale, you’re the best.
Indigenous Australians have lots of landscape stories, too. In fact, songlines are the paths that creator spirits take/took over the land, sea and sky, and are the way these stories have been passed on through generations. A very famous one is the Rainbow Serpent.
We used to get the story of Gurangatch and Mirragan from the library all the time. I doubt you can buy it in the US but there is a web version at least.
The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland was built to facilitate a fight between local boy Finn McCool and Scottish challenger Benandonner,it says here.
I have no idea if this book is any good - but it claims to be about the legend about the northwest volcanoes and looks to be for that age range (or a little younger).
In The Silmarillion, major transformations in the landscape seem to be an inescapable by-product of clashes between the Valar and Morgoth. Mortals should probably stay the hell away from said clashes.