Native American Stories

Richly hued illustrations are used to show how First Woman tried to guide humans by providing the “laws of the world” by writing them in the sky with her jewels (the stars). Things change, however, when trickster Coyote tries to help, tires of the task, and then tosses the rest of the jewels into the night sky with beautiful if chaotic results.

Iktomi is a trickster from the Lakota who tricks prairie dogs into becoming his next meal. But Iktomi meets his match when Coyote, another truly wily character, enters the picture. Though the prairie dogs don’t fair well in this traditional tale, the style of telling and Goble’s authentically styled illustrations present the tale’s humor and lesson in a palatable way.

Jenna wants to dance in the powwow as her grandmother and other women in her family have. But she wonders: will she have enough jingles to make her dress sing? Traditional and contemporary activities come together in this appealing, clearly illustrated story of a modern girl and her background, based on the author’s Muscogee (Creek) heritage.

A child narrates how a much loved cat, Woogie, brings good luck to her family. When Woogie is lost, its luck may have run out — but the resolution is luckily both satisfying and happy. Richly hued illustrations add authentic details to a universally appealing story set within a Native American family and told by a Muskogee-Creek writer.

Have you ever wondered how the Milky Way came to be? According to a Cherokee legend, it started when an old couple learned that their corn was being stolen by a Great Spirit dog. To get away, the spirit dog jumps into the sky, spilling the corn. And we can still see the results today in the night sky.

An old Inuit woman takes in a polar bear cub and raises him until others in the village become jealous of the bear’s hunting prowess, threatening to kill him. The old woman sends her beloved bear away, but continues to meet him far out on the ice where her polar bear “son” gives her food to eat. The gentle telling and illustrations evoke the Arctic.

When her older sisters try to convince the Invisible Being’s sister that they can see him, they are rebuffed. Only the youngest, whose face and hair is badly scarred from feeding the fires, can answer his questions correctly and see him everywhere. Sophisticated and hauntingly illustrated, experienced readers will see similarities between this Algonquin tale and its familiar European counterpart, “Cinderella”.