In this redesigned edition of Scott O’Dell’s classic novel, a young Eskimo girl encounters frightening obstacles when she takes her father’s place in the Iditarod, the annual 1,172-mile dogsled race in Alaska.
Black Star, Bright Dawn
Americas
Materials from the Americas
Byron Through The Seasons: A Dene-English Story Book
This Dene-English story book was produced by the students and teachers of Ducharme Elementary School in La Loche, Saskatchewan, with assistance from local advisors and elders. Together, they wrote the story, translated it, and worked on the pictures. Their goal was to highlight some aspects of Dene culture that were vital in the past and are still important today. They wanted to show the continuity of a genuine and successful way of life, and emphasize culturally-significant events and attitudes.To produce the book, over 400 hundred students provided ideas for the story line and art samples for the illustrations. Two hundred letters went out to the community families, asking for ideas and information with regard to story content. A dozen elders were consulted to provide accurate and culturally-correct information. A teacher committee of six worked on the project for two years.Byron Through the Seasons is a story told by Grandfather Jonas and imagined by his grandson, Byron. The balloon diagram in each picture represents the symbolic journey taken by Byron as he listens to stories of what Dene life is like during the four seasons of the year.
The Shaman’s Nephew: A Life In The Far North
When Jewish author/storyteller Sheldon Oberman met Inuit artist/hunter Simon Tookoome, he knew the encounter was special. Still, he had no idea their meeting would result in an amazing collaboration that would span a decade. Through the use of many tape recordings and translations, Sheldon has painstakingly woven the threads of a remarkable man’s life into a book for all to treasure. With Tookoome’s drawings to enhance the text, Oberman has managed to express the cadence and voice of one of the last of the Inuit to live the traditional nomadic life in the Arctic. The Shaman’s Nephew magically transports readers to a cold climate that warms and grows more familiar with every turn of the page.
An Eskimo Birthday
Young Eeka lives in Point Hope, Alaska, well above the Arctic Circle where there is little daylight during the winter months. It’s her birthday and Eeka is hoping that her mother may have found the right fur for the newly made velveteen parka that her mother has just made for her. However, with the coming of a storm, her attention moves towards the safety of her father who may be caught in the great winter storm that has developed while checking his traps. From Eeka escorting her younger cousin home from school, to the stories of survival and legend told by Eeka’s grandfather, young (and older) readers will be introduced to a bit of Eskimo culture. Lastly, Glo Coalson’s lovely and descriptive illustrations are integral to the book.
Little Voice (In The Same Boat Series, 4)
A young Ojibway girl, struggling over the fact that her father has died, spends a summer in the bush with her grandmother and finds her own identity and voice. Things have been hard for her family since her father’s accidental death in a logging accident, and Ray has been unable to express her grief. In school, the green eyes she inherited from her father are unusual for a child from an Ojibway background in a northern Ontario town and get her noticed in ways she doesn’t enjoy. At home, Ray believes that her mother, grieving herself and busy with Ray’s younger brother and sister, no longer needs her. Ray becomes so withdrawn that at times she hardly speaks. At the end of this beautiful and empowering story, which begins in 1978, the withdrawn green-eyed girl has found her voice and is not afraid to use it.
“Just Talking About Ourselves”: Voices Of Our Youth (Just Talking About Ourselves)
The prose that comprise these anthologies are true depictions of the lives of Native youth in urban and reserve settings. Volume 2.
Itse Selu: Cherokee Harvest Festival
A backward glimpse to pre-Colombian Cherokee Indian life as Little Wolf and his family work, play, and prepare for the harvest festival, Itse Selu. Includes Cherokee language.
The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering (We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today)
Glen Jackson, Jr., an eleven-year-old Ojibway Indian in northern Minnesota, goes with his father to harvest wild rice, the sacred food of his people.
As Long As The Rivers Flow
Starting in the 1800s and continuing into the 20th century, First Nations children were forcibly taken to government-sponsored residential schools to erase their traditional languages and cultures. This moving book tells of one such child, author Larry Loyie, and his last summer with his Cree tribe. It is a time of learning and adventure. He cares for an abandoned baby owl, watches his grandmother make winter moccasins, and sees her kill a huge grizzly with one shot. The sensitive text and Heather Holmlund’s expressive illustrations beautifully capture the joy and drama of a First Nations family’s last summer together.
A Small Tall Tale From The Far Far North
This spectacularly beautiful, inventive picture-book journal of life with the Alaskan Eskimos at the turn of the century is a brilliant leap of the imagination and the embodiment of the aphorism “every picture tells a story.”
Full color throughout.
New York Times Best Illustrated Book Of The Year, Ala Notable Children’s Book