Art CoulsonRecensioni

There were a few places in the text where the editor could have made changes. Generally a good hunting story. Pheasant farming briefly mentioned.½

This is an odd little book -- more of a collection of short stories than a linear narrative. Almost feels like a magazine, and the illustrations are compelling. I am deeply amused at Chooch's loathsome teenager attitude and delighted at how his uncles manage to connect with him anyway.

Through investigation, Bo discovers the perfect container to display his marble collection at the Cherokee National Holiday festival.

For months, Bo has worked hard on painting round stones to make homemade marbles. He is finally old enough to sell them at his family’s craft booth. His grandma, Elisi, says there is only so much space at the table so he will need to find something to hold the marbles. She sends him to “look around. Just don’t make a big ol’ mess!” Bo hunts through the boxes in his room, but nothing is big enough. When he finds a large tray, Elisi says, “Tla.…Our booth is small. Your container needs to fit on this mat.” Bo carries the mat around the house, experimenting with containers of different shapes and sizes. He dumps out the contents of a ribbon box, a tool crate, and a tall vase, but nothing works. He is about to give up and ask for help when he empties the contents of a basket. His marbles fit perfectly! Elisi’s house is a mess, but Bo has found just the right container to show and sell his homemade marbles. Incorporating snatches of Cherokee, Coulson’s (Cherokee) tale conveys the challenges of estimating volume even as it develops three-dimensional characters and their affectionate relationship. Goodnight’s (Chickasaw) illustrations are lively and full of details specific to Cherokee culture.

This fun, math-inspired story will empower children to keep trying until they succeed. (author’s note, glossary, math activities) (Picture book. 3-6)

-Kirkus Review

This small but important collection includes two illustrated stories and a third section called "Cherokee Life Today," with information and photos.

In "The Reluctant Storyteller," Maurice Tenkiller resists the perceived expectation that he become an oral storyteller like many others in his family, but his family actually encourages him to be his own person - which in his case, means expressing himself through cooking ("Helping to feed his family was part of a larger family tradition he had never really thought much about").

"His mother once told him that her father, his grandfather, had talked the quills off an angry porcupine in their backyard in Oklahoma.
'That's how we got possums,' she said."

In the second story, "The Energy of the Thunder Beings," young Saloli ventures up a mountain called Standing Man, in search of hickory wood to make sticks to play anetsodi. His mother warns him not to go up there, but although he disregards this warning, he takes into account the stories she has told about the mountain and the Thunder Beings and the Little People who live there. In this way, Saloli is able to make the trip safely and return successfully ("You didn't take what wasn't yours. And you knew the right words to say").

In the third section, Traci Sorell presents facts about Cherokee life today, including a map of the Cherokee Nation, a few words and a pronunciation guide, and photographs.

This book would be great for kids that are into football, or really just sports in general, as Jim Thorpe is one of the most well-known athletes of his time. The book talks about overcoming obstacles and chasing your dreams through hard work and determination, a great lesson for kids.

Travis is a Native American boy in a big town. He is teased by classmates because he is so inept at lacrosse, a traditional sport. Through dreams (or spiritual guidance...you decide), his deceased grandfather encourages him by telling how he himself had to keep trying before he got good, by relating the traditional story about how lacrosse began, by passing on his old equipment.
This book includes details of real life for many native peoples in big towns: single working parent household, a grandparent in the home, economizing, simple meals, old car.
Includes glossary of Ojibwe words and related terms used in the book, a descriptive list of the equipment used in the game, and a list of books for further reading (not all are juvenile level).
I looked for the book because it was illustrated by Robert DesJarlait whose illustrations for "Sparrow Hawk" were well crafted. I was disappointed in his illustrations here. Even tho this book was published much later than Sparrow Hawk; they looked like they had been drawn by a young teen using colored pencils (colored areas not well filled) and the body proportions not very realistic. Perhaps he had drawn these pictures when younger. Or perhaps he deliberately mimicked a younger drawing style since the book was intended for children.½