A Navajo family welcomes a new baby into the family with love and ceremony, eagerly waiting for that first special laugh. Includes brief description of birth customs in different cultures.
First Laugh
Southwest
Sisters In Blue
In the early 1600s, imagines an encounter between a Pueblo woman and Sister María de Jesús de Ágreda, New Mexicoʹs famous Lady in Blue, during the nun’s mystical spiritual journeys.
Featured in WOW Review Volume X, Issue 3.
Arturo and the Bienvenido Feast
Arturo and his grandmother return in this charming bilingual sequel. Abue Rosa and Arturo are making a welcome dinner for Tia Ines’ new fiancé using plaintains, pollo, and pastel. With a bit of creativity, Arturo takes charge and creates a welcome feast like no other. Charming illustrations infused with the colors of the Southwest bring this touching story to life. A glossary at the end provides explanations and pronunciation for key words.
Evangelina Takes Flight
Having fled the rampaging revolutionaries in Mexico in 1911, thirteen-year-old Evangelina and her family face unexpected prejudice and violence in Texas.
Frog Brings Rain
As fire creeps toward the village of the First People, First Man and First Woman must find a way to quench the flames. First Woman asks the Bird People, the River People, and the Water People for assistance, but everyone she speaks to has an excuse. “Not me,” said Mockingbird. “The smoke would hurt my voice and I would never sing again.” “Not me,” said Snail. “I carry my house with me and I am slow.” “No,” said Beaver. “We’d like to help, but our river home would become a desert if we changed the flow of water.” At last, First Woman asks the mysterious Frog for help. Will he be able to stop the flames before they reach the village? Author Patricia Hruby Powell’s retelling of this Navajo folktale is as graceful as it is compelling, and as magical as the mythical time it describes.
The Precious Gift: A Navaho Creation Myth
A drop of fresh water must be retrieved in order for First Man to create a stream or lake in his parched homeland, and the members of his village are unable to do so, but, through an unexpected twist of fate, their doomed destiny may be saved.
Navajo Women: Saanii
“I am a child of Changing Woman.” That is a line in a Navajo prayer spoken by medicine men on behalf of patients, and in the old days it was symbolic and spiritual. Today, it is real. Navajo women, once relegated to bearing children, caring for the home, and raising livestock in a matrilineal society, have transformed themselves into businesswomen, attorneys, truck drivers, pilots, nurses, artists, presidential candidates, and more. Who is the Navajo woman and what drives her in 2007? Join Navajo writer Betty Reid and photographer Kenji Kawano on a journey through the cycle of a Navajo woman’s life, from east (birth and youth) to south (teenager and young adult) to west (adult) to north (elder).
Hopi
This title introduces readers to the Hopi people. Text covers traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, and clothing.
Navajo
Traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more are covered.
Hip, Hip, Hooray, It’s Monsoon Day!
A girl and her family in the Southwest celebrates San Juan’s Day, June 24, the day when the summer rainstorms traditionally begin.