Folklore

Arranged by region, this illustrated collection includes stories, legends, poems, and traditional craft projects of Native American peoples from the Arctic to Mexico. The glossary will help students understand the various peoples and their languages. Winner of the 1995 Book Builder's of Boston Award for Excellence in Graphic Arts.

Native American author and teacher Joseph Bruchac has collected 26 tales from Northeast tribes in this book. Some are gentle and humorous, like "Sunny Wundy's Skipping Stone", about a boy who outwits a stone giant. Others, like "The Origin of Medicine", are darker in tone.

Tehanetorens is a master story teller in the Mohawk tradition. In Legends of the Iroquois ancient stories are presented both in pictographs and with an English translation. The text is beautifully supported with illustrations by the accomplished Iroquois artist Kahionhes. The legends carry us deep into a Native American culture and teach basic lessons about what it means to be a human being.

Nothing can stop John Henry — no boulder, no mountain, and definitely no steam drill. Newbery Honor winner Julius Lester writes with such power that this African-American folk hero becomes as awesome as a natural phenomenon. Jerry Pinkney received a Caldecott Honor for his exuberant, glowing watercolor paintings of the hero. The book, celebrating its tenth year in print, was also a Boston Globe — Horn Book Award winner, a Parents Magazine Best Book, and an ALA Notable Book, among other honors.