Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales »

Welcome the second book in the Folktales of the World series! Engaging, inspirational, and above all entertaining, these legends come from Native American peoples across the U.S. Richly illustrated with original art, they capture a wide range of belief systems and wisdom from the Cherokee, Cheyenne, Hopi, Lenape, Maidu, Seminole, Seneca, and other tribes. The beautifully retold tales, all with informative introductions, range from creation myths to animal fables to stirring accounts of bravery and sacrifice. Find out how stories first came to be, and how the People came to the upper world. Meet Rabbit, the clever and irresistible Creek trickster. See how the buffalo saved the Lakota people, and why the Pawnee continue to do the Bear Dance to this very day.
Stefano Vitale’s art showcases a stunning array of animal figures, masks, totems, and Navajo-style rug patterns, all done in nature’s palette of brilliant turquoises, earth browns, shimmering sun-yellow, vivid fire-orange, and the deep blues of a dark night.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6

The Bruchacs retell Native North American folktales in a clear yet bold voice. The anthology is arranged geographically, a logical organization that reveals the diversity of Native peoples, from the corn planters of the East to the buffalo hunters of the plains to the gatherers of California. Descriptions of each region introduce the original inhabitants of those places, as the authors provide succinct yet enriching historical and cultural context for the stories that follow; unifying themes are also discussed. And every tale, in turn, begins with a brief background and credit to the Nation from which it is derived. The individual stories are concise, spanning only a few pages, allowing them to be read in a single sitting, while the many animal personalities found within-some mischievous, some heroic-will capture the imagination of storytime audiences. A current of subtle profundity runs through these stories. Vitale's stylized oil-on-wood illustrations vividly reveal the colorful spirit of the tales, as bright blues and reds complement the earth tones found throughout. An annotated bibliography provides source notes and comparative analyses to other folktales from around the world. Similar to Margaret Mayo's When the World Was Young (S & S, 1996), Girl is effective in the amount of cultural background it provides, the simplicity of the text, and the beauty of the paintings.-Jeff Meyer, Slater Public Library, IA