justme824 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I am gearing up for a Native American study that will last about 4-weeks or so (really, until we have read the books and completed any projects that are started). I am looking to get my books in order. I need to purchase the books so to keep my wallet from exploding I need to get the best of best. This is my working list. I plan to use the If You Lived... books and add 1-2 other books per region. We did cover the If You Lived with the Hopi last year so that is not included. If you lived with the Iroquois *Need a book or two here If you lived with the Cherokee 1st Strawberries Sequoyah by Rumford Only the Names Remain OR Trail of Tears (I have both, but assume the story is the same - which would you read?) If you lived with the Sioux Buffalo Hunt *I'd like something else here If You Lived with the Pacific Northwest *I'd like something here Though there is no If You Lived book for the Inuit I'd like to cover them as well, but I have no book ideas yet. Longer Read Alouds. Not sure what we'll read, but these are the books already on my shelf. I am open to suggestions if there is something better. We've already Naya Nuki & Birchbark House. Om-kas-toe Moccasin Trail Indian Captive Sign of the Beaver Sing Down the Moon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Anybody??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 For the longer read aloud, I would definitely do Children of the Longhouse - or something else by Joseph Bruhac. I would skip Indian Captive and Sign of the Beaver definitely. We did a bunch of picture books... one that we read that might fill one of your slots was Echoes of the Elders - Pacific Northwest Indians. A really neat book with cool formatting and art. Also, for the Sioux, I'm pretty sure some of the Paul Goble books could be options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I agree with skipping Sign of the Beaver and Indian Captive - I remember reading on one website by Native Americans that it was one of the worst offenders of racial stereotyping. I also wouldn't recommend reading Om-Kas-Toe out loud, it was difficult to keep the "flow" going because the sentences were very choppy when I read it to DD last year. For Inuits, we read Tikta'Liktak, which flowed better than Om-Kas-Toe. We did the Evan-Moor Native American history pockets for additional learning. We read picture books for the Pacific Northwest: Clamshell Boy and Whale in the Sky. This website might be helpful in finding some books from each tribe or nation. If you can find a copy of The Indian Book (terribly un-PC name, but it's a good resource) by Childcraft Annual, it has good information about the different tribes, their traditions, stories, etc. Your library might have it. It was one of the spines I used when we were studying Native Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 RE Sing Down The Moon One of my best memories of college is the time my children's lit teacher read aloud the first chapter of SDtM. The language is beautiful--I love Scott O'Dell. It is a deep book with some really sad/difficult parts, but if your kids can handle it (don't know their ages), it would be a top recommendation of mine, just for the literary value. The writer of Om-Kas-Toe has several other books. He is well-respected within the First Nations community. I actually liked Sign of the Beaver a lot as a story, but YMMV and you might want to preread. I did not find it disrespectful to NA peoples, but I'm not NA, so perhaps I'm not sensitive enough to discern what is offensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Thanks everyone :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Here are a few picture books we like: In a Circle Long Ago: A Treasury of Native Lore of North America by Nancy Van Laan The Legend of Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaola Her Seven Brothers by Paul Goble The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend by Terri Cohlene The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMOm Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 We read "My Indian Boyhood" aloud last year and all three of my older kids loved, loved, loved it. Definitely a great living book selection! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/ Here is a resource for reviews on Native American themed books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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