Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Traditional Tales
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How did the chipmunk get its stripes? Why does the wind whistle through the canyons? Who are the Star People? Young readers will enjoy these traditional tales and adaptations from American Indian lore.
A Man Called Raven
When Chris and Toby Greyeyes find a raven in the garage, they try to trap it and hurt it with hockey sticks. To them, ravens are just a nuisance because they spread garbage all over the street — or so they think, until a mysterious man who smells like pine needles enters their lives and teaches them his story of the raven. Set in the Northwest Territories of Canada, A Man Called Raven draws from the animal legends and folklore of the Dogrib elders. — Midwest Book Review
Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story
A long time ago, fire belonged only to the animals in the land above, not to those on the earth below. Curlew, keeper of the sky world, guarded fire and kept it from the earth. Coyote, however, devised a clever plan to steal fire, aided by Grizzly Bear, Wren, Snake, Frog, Eagle, and Beaver. Beaver Steals Fire is an ancient and powerful tale springing from the hearts and experiences of the Salish people of Montana.
Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places
Bruchac frames 11 legends of Native American sacred places with a conversation between Little Turtle and his uncle, Old Bear, who says, "There are sacred places all around us…They are found in the East and in the North, in the South and in the West, as well as Above, Below, and the place Within."…The text is printed in stanzas, enhancing the image of prose poems. — School Library Journal
Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird
Product Description: In this traditional Crow story, a great big monster climbs out of the lake and up the cliff to steal the mother Thunderbird's young chicks each spring. This year she is determined to save them, but she needs human help. So she snatches up Brave Wolf while he is out hunting and carries him to her nest, where he comes up with a plan. (Tales of the People)
Coyote and the Sky: How the Sun, Moon, and Stars Began
According to Santa Ana Pueblo legend, the animals' spirit Leader created the sun, moon, and stars by using woven yucca mats and hot coals. He selected certain animals to climb from their homes in the Third World up to the Fourth World, but Coyote was forbidden to accompany them because he was always causing trouble and stealing food from the others. Regardless of what he was told, Coyote refused to stay in the Third World. Coyote's punishment is a lesson in what happens to animals, or people, when they refuse to obey instructions.
Coyote in Love With a Star: Tales of the People
In this tale, Coyote leaves his home on a Potawatomi reservation on the Plains to find work in New York City. Once there, he falls in love with a star and leaves the Earth to dance with her. When he asks to return, she drops him. He lands in Central Park, making a big hole (the Reservoir), and his descendants howl at the night sky to scold her. — School Library Journal (Note: This story, featuring the World Trade Center, was written in 1998.)
Field Mouse Goes to War
This traditional Hopi tale recounts the courage and cleverness of a tiny field mouse striving to protect the village from a mighty hawk who is stealing the chickens. It was originally published in 1944 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the drawings are by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie. The book is in English and phonetic Hopi with a pronunciation guide.
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes
When Bear brags and Chipmunk teases, the results are an angry bear and a striped chipmunk. Animated language and colorful illustrations tell a porquoi story — a tale that explains — that's perfect for sharing aloud.
Ice Man
When an out-of-control fire threatens to burn their whole world, a Cherokee elder advises two young men to go to the top of the world and seek the aid of Ice Man. Because they give him an offering, he puts the great fire out — and creates a lake in its place. To this day, it is said, you can hear the embers beneath the lake, crackling and hissing, reminding everyone of the great fire. — Oyate
Legends of the Iroquois
This collection of familiar Iroquois stories, told by elder and tribal scholar Tehanetorens, is made unique by the fact that they are also told in pictographs. There is a short essay on picture writing, and many pages of translations of the symbols themselves, including those for each of the clans of the Six Nations. The non-pictograph illustrations, by Mohawk artist Kahionhes (John Fadden), expand the meaning and power of the stories. — Oyate
Pushing up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children
Bruchac adapts seven traditional tales from various tribes into plays for children. Each play is introduced with a brief tribal background, a list of characters, suggestions for props and scenery, and recommended costumes. Representing tribes from Bruchac's own Abenaki to the Cherokee, Tlingit, and Zuni, the plays are mostly pourquoi tales, explaining how mosquitos came into the world or why stars are visible at night. — Booklist
The Butterfly Dance
This story chronicles one important day seen through the eyes of a young Hopi girl named Sihumana, or "Flower Maiden", who is a member of the Rabbit Clan and winningly portrayed as a rabbit. After going with her grandfather to greet the sun and bless the day, Sihumana travels with her family to another village to take part in the traditional Butterfly Dance, performed late each summer in order to bring rain to the dry lands of the Southwest. (Tales of the People)
The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
Seeing that man is sorry after arguing with his wife, Sun sends the first strawberries to the land. The sweet fruit slows the wife down, allowing her husband to catch up and apologize. To this day, strawberries remind people to be kind to each other. Rich illustrations add interesting details to this fluid telling of a traditional legend.
The Flute Player
Through a simple story line and easy, concrete language, Lacapa offers an Apache pourquoi folktale he remembers from his youth. The tale explains that the sound of wind echoing through the canyons comes from the flute of a young brave serenading his sweetheart. When the young man goes on his first hunt without telling her, she is sure she's been forgotten; she becomes ill and dies. Returning home, the boy learns of her death, and continues to play his flute at her grave. — School Library Journal
The Legend Of Caribou Boy
When a little boy, traveling with his parents and grandparents, has trouble sleeping at night, he realizes that the caribou spirit is so strong in him that he can no longer remain a human. But his connection to his human family is strong also, and so he gives them the gift of the caribou when they are hungry. John Blondin shares the story as told by his father, elder George Blondin (Dene). Bilingual English/Dogrib. — Oyate
The Star People: A Lakota Story
"While exploring the land around their village, Sister Girl and Young Wolf stray too far. After narrowly escaping a roaring prairie fire, the siblings find themselves lost and frightened in the dark, open land until the Star People, 'the spirits of the Old Ones who once walked on the earth,' offer comfort and guidance home. In clear, captivating language, Nelson, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, tells a stirring, original story based on Lakota legend…The swirling images of the celestial dance beautifully reflect the story's celebration and awe of the natural world." — Booklist
When Turtle Grew Feathers: A Tale from the Choctaw Nation
Product Description: Maybe you think you know the story of the big race between Rabbit and Turtle. Think again! In this story from the Choctaw People, Tim Tingle shows that it was not being slow and steady that won Turtle the big race — it was those feathers!!!
Wopila: A Giveaway
Product Description: This audio collection of traditional Lakota stories is a giveaway, a way of returning the gift of the stories preserved by Lakota elders and grandparents to pass on the traditions and perspectives of their people. These stories, usually told on winter evenings, are intended to teach proper behavior or a moral lesson. Storyteller Dovie Thomason has carefully selected seven timeless Lakota stories to teach and entertain youngsters and their parents.
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