Native American Storybooks

[Sharikee]

Native American stories are as varied as the trees on the Earth and yet have many common themes, whether told by the Inuit of Alaska or the Seminole of Florida. Traditional Native stories are based on honoring all life, especially the plants and animals we depend on, as well as our human ancestors.
Most stories talk about the living beings within a specific tribe’s homeland—the raven of the Pacific Northwest, the coyote from the desert, the buffalo of the Plains, the beaver of the Eastern woodlands. Stories explain why and how certain local plants and animals came to be, such as Narragansett storyteller Tchin’s lesson of why rabbits have such long ears. Other stories explain ceremony and ritual, such as Hoskie Benally’s story “The Five Sacred Medicines”.

[Sharikee]

Quillworker is a Cheyenne Legend about a girl named Quillworker who is an only child. She has a dream to take a trip to the Tipi of Seven Brothers. Even though she was the only girl at the Tipi of Seven Brothers, she was happy there. Then, Buffalo Calf arrived and wanted to take Quillworker to the Buffalo Nation to make all the buffalo beautiful. The seven brothers try to save Quillworker from the buffalo. Many challenges face Quillworker and Wihio.

[Sharikee]

An action-packed coming-of-age story, Gift Horse is a wonderfully evocative introduction to 19th-century Native American life on the Great Plains. When his father gives him a gift horse, marking the beginning of his journey to manhood, Flying Cloud and the horse, Storm, spend their days hunting and roughhousing with the other boys and their horses. But when an enemy raiding party steals his beloved Storm, Flying Cloud faces the ultimate rite of passage. He must join the rescue party and earn the right to wear the shirt of a warrior.

[Sharikee]

Thanks To The Animals

Little Zoo Sap and his family are moving from their summer home on the coast to the deep woods for the winter, traveling on a big bobsled pulled by big horses. When Zoo Sap falls off of the sled unnoticed, the forest animals hear his cries and come to shelter him—everyone from the tiny mouse to the giant moose to the great bald eagle—keeping him warm and safe until his father comes back to find him.

[Sharikee]

Little Gopher is smaller than the rest of the children in his tribe and can't keep up with those who ride, run, wrestle or shoot with bows and arrows. But, he has a talent of his own, he is an artist. When he grows older, a Dream-Vision comes to him: a young Indian maiden and her grandfather tell him that he will paint pictures of the great warriors with colors as pure as the evening sky. Little Gopher's paintings never satisfy him because the colors are dull and dark, but he keeps trying. In the night, a voice tells him how to find paint-filled brushes; Little Gopher locates them, and they become brilliantly colored flowers known as Indian Paintbrush.

[Sharikee]

A brave boy goes into the hills and prays for help for his people. A rider on a magnificent animal comes to him and says: "This animal is called the Sacred Dog. He can do many things your dogs can do and also more...He is as the wind: gentle but sometimes frightening." The clouds close and suddenly one by one countless Sacred Dogs course down from the sky. And so the courage of one determined boy is rewarded by the Great Spirit: The horse, or Sacred Dog, is given to his tribe.

[Sharikee]

After Possum and Buzzard fail in their attempts to steal a piece of the sun, Grandmother Spider succeeds in bringing light to the animals on her side of the world.

[Sharikee]

An exquisite blending of folklore, full-color artwork, and the prayers and traditions of the Plains Indians chronicles the spiritual journey of an old woman from death to a reunion with friends and loved ones who had died before.

[Sharikee]

Raven, the trickster, wants to give people the gift of light. But can he find out where Sky Chief keeps it? And if he does, will he be able to escape without being discovered? His dream seems impossible, but if anyone can find a way to bring light to the world, wise and clever Raven can!

[Sharikee]

Star Boy was the son of Morning Star and an earthly bride. He was banished from the Sky World for this mother's disobedience and bore a mysterious scar on his face, the symbol of the Sun's disapproval.
As Star Boy grew, he came to love the chief's daughter, and it was she who helped him find the courage to journey to the Sky World and make peace with the Sun. The Sun not only lifted the scar but sent Star Boy back to the world with the sacred knowledge of the Sun Dance, a ceremony of thanks for the Creator's blessing.

[Sharikee]

In every American Indian culture, there comes a time in each boy's life when he must walk forth on his own, leaving his home and the protection of his family to prove to himself and to his people that he can survive and grow. Traditional stories passed down from father to son were often used to offer examples of the positive qualities of manhood. Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear is a striking collection from Native North America of sixteen such thrilling tales in which young men must face great enemies, find strength and endurance within themselves to succeed, and make the transition from boyhood to manhood.

[Sharikee]

In love with a beautiful girl, but too shy to tell her, a young man leaves his camp in frustration. One night he receives mystical visitors who offer him a special gift -- a love flute. A gift from the birds and animals, its tells the girl of his love where words have failed.

[Sharikee]

Lost and afraid, two young children seek shelter in a wolf's cave. There they meet a kindly wolf who leads them home. Based on a Plains Indian legend, this exceptional picture book demonstrates the love and respect the Plains Indians have for the wolf and the natural world. It is a tribute to the Plains Indian culture.