Southwest Resources by Cathleen Kimble Fall 2002 -- Children's Literature

     

This web page was created to provide references for teaching the Southwest United States.  Included are numerous sources for literature that can be incorporated into the curriculum.  Also, many of the links provide teacher resources, either lesson plans or web quests.  I created this web page since I will be teaching the Southwest when I student teach.  I thought that by researching literature resources I would have a better idea of the area and also know what materials are available to use in teaching.

* Chapter Books *

Describes animal and plant life in the drought parched desert during the month of July and how a little wild pig adapts to this environment. Students will learn about plant and animal life and be able to connect the information to already known information about survival.

  Meyer, Carolyn. Where the Broken Heart Still Beats. Harcourt, Inc., 1992.

Having been taken as a child and raised by Comanche Indians, thirty four year old Cynthia Ann Parker is forcibly returned to her white relatives, where she longs for her Indian life and her only friend is her twelve year old cousin Lucy. Students will discuss family gatherings and how it relates to the story.

  Myers, Walter Dean. The Righteous Revenge of Atemis Bonner. Econo-Clad Books, 1994.

In 1880, 15 year old Artemis Bonner, an African American New Yorker, travels to Tombstone, Arizona, to avenge the murder of his Uncle Ugly and to find his uncle's hidden gold stake. Artemis chases the murderous scalawag from Mexico to Alaska and back again before a showdown on the exact spot where Uncle Ugly met his untimely demise. Students will learn about the wild west and the southwest at the same time.  They will be able to discuss differences and similarities to that of today.

  O’Dell, Scott. Sing Down the Moon. Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1992.

This novel is the story of Bright Morning and her Navajo tribe.  They live in Canyon de Chelly and are one day visited by Spanish slavers.  Bright Morning’s life is changed immediately that day.  This novel shows Bright Morning’s journey home and the trials her family must take in order to survive the Long Walk.  This novel was chosen because it shows students Navajo life and the journey they had to take in order to survive.

  Soto, Gary. The Skirt. Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1994. Illustrator: Eric Velasquez.

Miata Ramirez is heartsick. She brought her folklorico skirt to school and left it on the bus. Miata can't let her parents know she's lost something again, and she needs the skirt for her dance group performance. This 1994-95 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee captures the spirit, pride, and traditions of a contemporary Mexican American family.  Students will be able to discuss times when they forgot something important.

  White, Deer of Autumn. The Great Change. Beyond Words Publishing, 1992. Illustrator: Carol Grigg.

A Native American grandmother explains the meaning of death, or the Great Change, to her questioning granddaughter. Students will discuss times when they questioned important topics.

As you would expect, "Colors of the Navajo" is full of rich, color illustrations. Each page focuses on one color, much like an ABC book for colors. The illustrations on each page are predominantly in the color being described. The text beautifully teaches about one aspect of the Navajo World through each color. For example, "Turquoise" is used to share information about the history of silversmithing and the creation of jewelry with turquoise stones. "Red" is used to share the beliefs about sacred red ants and the use of sand paintings in healing ceremonies. Although it appears to be presented in a simple form, the rich color illustrations will hold a child's attention long enough to read or listen to the rich historical and cultural information being given.  I selected this book because I think that it shows the students the importance of the colors to the Navajo people. 

   Archambault, John. Knots on a Counting Rope. Owlet, 1997. Illustrators: Bill Martin, Ted Rand.

This story is about a counting rope.  However, the counting rope is a metaphor for the passage of time and for a boy's emerging confidence facing his greatest challenge- - blindness. The young Indian boy asks his Grandfather to tell him about the when he was born.  As the Grandfather tells the story, he adds a knot to the counting rope.  This story shows love, hope, and courage.  It has beautiful illustrations and students will enjoy the story and also learn about the meaning of a counting rope.  Students could create their own counting rope for favorite family stories and in class tell the stories while using the rope. 

   Buchanan, Ken. This House is Made of Mud.  Rising Moon, 1994. Illustrator: Libba Tracy.

This story tells about a visit to a southwestern adobe house and a glimpse of the animals that live in and around it.  The illustrations are beautiful watercolors and make the story come alive.  This story helps students learn about point of view, since the story is told from an American Indian child's view.  Students will learn how an American Indian child views the world. Link to a web quest about the book!

   Guiberson, Brenda. Cactus Hotel. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1991. Illustrator: Megan Lloyd.

This book explains the uses of the saguaro cactus by Native Americans.  Beautiful illustrations accompany the text.  A good resource for learning about cactus and their uses.  The book also explains how the saguaro originated and the purpose of it today in the desert.  Illustrations show the cactus and also the animals that live in them.  This book is a wonderful resource for students to learn about the cactus and the ways that it can be used.  Students can write about why they believe animals live within the cactus and compare that home to the original habitat of the animal.

This book tells about the critters of the southwest and helps teach students about the different southwest animals.  This book is helpful in teaching students about new animals and also for researching animals to find common characteristics between southwest animals. 

Tells about the animals of the southwest.  Shows students the different animals of this area and teaches them about the many animals in the area.  I would use this book to teach students about the different animals and also to introduce them to new animals.

   Hucko, Bruce. A Rainbow at Night. Chronicle Books, 1996. Illustrators: Navajo Children.

This book contains words and paintings of twenty three Navajo children.  The children share views of home and family, daily activities, and myth and culture.  The illustrations make visible connections between communal values and specific aspects of Navajo culture and life. Students will learn about the important aspects of Navajo culture.  This book is an important part of the curriculum because it shows the students the aspects that are important in the Navajo culture to children their own age.

   Miles, Miska. Annie and the Old One. Scott Foresman, 1985. Illustrator: Peter Parnall.

This story is about a Navajo girl and her grandmother.  This book helps students see the importance of family within the Navajo culture.  Students can write about a special bond they have with a family member. 

   Schick, Eleanor. Navajo Wedding Day: A Dine Marriage Ceremony. Marshall Cavendish Inc., 1999.

This story describes a traditional Navajo wedding from the point of view of a white child whose best friend, Vanessa, is Navajo. The details that are part of the wedding ceremony are explained throughout the text.  Students will learn about the difference between customs and wedding ceremonies and can discuss similarities and differences between the cultures.  Illustrations are beautiful and compliment the story. 

   Sneve, Virginia. The Navajos. Holiday House, Inc., 1997. Illustrator: Ronald Himler.

This book is part of a series that documents six Native American tribes.  The book begins with a retelling of the creation myth of the tribe, leading into insights on family life, government, ceremonies and history. The illustrations are wonderful and help show the importance of the text.  This book is a great introduction to the Navajo for the study of the Southwest region.

   Tapahonso, Luci.  Navajo ABC. Aladdin Paperbacks, 1999. Illustrator: Eleanor Schick.

This alphabet book allows students to learn the Navajo alphabet and words.  Pictures accompany each word and allow students to understand the words.  A glossary, which includes pronunciation guidance, provides translations and a cultural context for each item, adding to the book's usefulness for introducing children to other cultures. This book is a good start for students who are interested in making an alphabet book themselves.

Homes where the cliff dwellers lived are explored within this book.  One of the largest was at Mesa Verde, called Anasazi “ancient ones” by present day Navajos, these pueblo dwelling people moved away, leaving cliff dwellings, pots, and the detritus of generations.  Students will learn about who they were, where and why they went, and what became of them. Aided by detailed, beautiful color photos of sites, researchers, and artifacts.  Helpful glossary and index.  I would use this book in the classroom for student research and learning about this people and their lives. 

   Baylor, Byrd. The Desert Is Theirs. New York: Aladdin Books, 1989. Illustrator: Peter Parnall.

This book tells about the desert and the Native Americans.  It tells about animals and nature and the text is easy to understand because it is in poetic form.  Beautiful illustrations emphasize the text.  Students can use this book to learn about this area and also to read more poetry. 

   Bruchac, Joseph.  Navajo Long Walk: The Tragic Story of a Proud People's Forced March from Their Homeland.  National Geographic Society, 2002. Illustrator: Shonto Begay.

This book tells the forced relocation of the Navajo.  The book begins in the present, telling of the Navajo gathered around an elder.  Their lives are shattered when the American soldiers come to their lands.  The trials of the Navajo are explained in this book through their Long Walk.  Students will learn about this event and also how the Navajos felt about it.  This book is helpful in answering student questions and learning more about this topic.  The illustrations are explained through captions and help students better understand them and their meanings. 

The Navajo people use sand painting for religious tradition.  Sand painting is explained through text and pictures.  Students can see the extensive and intricate sand paintings created and the importance of them in the Navajo culture.  Sand painting is understood as being very powerful, and for many years it was deemed unwise and even dangerous not to erase the paintings when the ritual was completed.  Sand painting has come to be a worldwide cherished and collected art form. Sand paintings are organized by artist so students can look for specific paintings.  This book will be helpful when teaching the students about sand painting and also when creating their own sand paintings.

This book explains the travels of John Wesley Powell and his explorers down the Colorado River.  Students will earn about Powell's journey down the river and also about the danger, excitement, and nonstop action of the adventure. Treatment of the Native Americans is discussed and students can use this information to see how they are viewed today.  This book is useful for student research and general interest in the topic. 

   Hausman, Gerald. Meditations with the Navajo: Prayers, Songs, and Stories of Healing and Harmony. Bear & Company, 2001.

This book discusses the meditations of the Navajo and the importance of them.  The students will learn about the various forms of meditation that are important to the Navajo and reasons for their use.  This book is helpful and can be related to the meditations that we use in our culture today.

This book contains color photographs and the text explores environmental issues the southwest states.   Contains a bibliography and index that students can use to look for specific information.  This book is useful because it allows students to learn about specific environmental issues that are concentrated in the southwest region.  This book will allow students to compare environmental issues in the southwest and the area that they live in and recommend ways to improve problem issues.

   Maynard, Jill. Through Indian Eyes: The Untold Story of Native American Peoples. Reader's Digest Association, Incorporated, 1995.

This book includes a history of Native American peoples.  Personal and public accounts and oral histories are included in the book.  The volume is most suited to younger students as a survey of native tribes, their traditional life, and the impacts on tribal life of the first contacts with Spanish adventurers through the Western migrations of the 19th century. The text is generously illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, and rare archival images.  Students can use this book to learn more about Native Americans and also for researching information.  This book is a wonderful resource to have in the classroom even if not studying the southwest region. 

   Simonelli, Jeanne M. Crossing between Worlds: The Navajos of Canyon de Chelly. School of American Research Press, 1997. Illustrator: Charles Winter.

This book includes wonderful pictures that are taken of the people of Canyon de Chelly.  These pictures can compliment the story, Sing Down the Moon.  The pictures compliment the stories they tell of Navajo life. This is an essential companion in the study of the Navajo, or in any visit to the Navajo Reservation. This book can be used as an introduction to Native American life.

Describes the life of the Omaha Indian woman who fought for Indians' rights, becoming the first American Indian lecturer and the first published Indian artist.  Shows girls that women have made important steps in history.

   Iverson, Peter. Carlos Montezuma and the Changing World of American Indians. University of New Mexico Press, 2002.

This is a biography of Montezuma, a southern Arizona Yavapai called Wassaja by his parents, Montezuma was captured by rival tribesmen as a boy and sold to a white man who gave him the name by which we know him. Trained as a physician, he spent several years working on western reservations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His career as a reformer began when he went to work at the Carlisle Indian School. Here he was able to meet many of the people centrally involved in the administration of federal Indian policy. Shortly after the turn of the century Montezuma emerged as a national leader of Native American affairs.

   Iverson, Peter. Dine: A History of the Navajos. University of New Mexico Press, 2002. Illustrator: Monty Roessel.

This narrative traces the history of the Navajos from their origins to the beginning of the twenty first century. Based on extensive archival research, traditional accounts, interviews, historic and contemporary photographs, and firsthand observation. Students will learn about the Navajo and their culture.  This book is more of a reference source for students; it can be used for projects that will be completed throughout the study of the southwest.

   Kawano, Kanji. Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers. Carl Northland Pub, 1990. Illustrator: Kenji Kawano.

Photographs of survivors from the Navajo radio operators whose native tongue proved an unbreakable code to the Japanese during World War II.  This book shows the students how important the Navajo were during World War II and their assistance to the war.

Describes the life of the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Oklahoma Cherokees. This biography shows girls that women have made important steps in history.

A fresh, authoritative retelling of the Iroquois creation story, in which the world as we know it today begins with a woman who fell from the sky and her two small children. Beautiful illustrations accompany story and add spectacular details to this simple, yet profound, tale of our beginnings and of the mystery and harmony of the universe. Students can compare this legend to those of other Native American legends already learned.

   Bruchac, Joseph. Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places. Thomas Locker Publisher, 1999. Illustrator: Thomas Locker.

This legend of Native American sacred places includes ten legends from different Native American tribes.  Each legend explains how a particular place came to be, noting its ongoing significance to its tribal people. Short, easy to understand legends are accompanied by full page oil paintings.  The illustrations greatly help the telling of the stories. A map and pronunciation guide is included and the story can be used as the other legends. Students can compare the legends that they know to those of the Native Americans.

   Cohlene, Terri. Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend. Troll Assoc., 1991. Illustrator: Charles Reasoner.

This myth tells of a young Cheyenne woman, famous for her porcupine quill embroidery, explains how the stars were born.  This story can be used with How the Stars Fell into the Sky.  Students can make comparisons and contrasts between the two stories.  Contains geographical, historical, and cultural information about the area.

   Cohlene, Terri. Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend. Troll Communications L.L.C., 1991. Illustrator: Charles Reasoner.

This retelling of a Navajo Indian legend in which Turquoise Boy searches for something that will make the Navajo people's lives easier.  Students will learn about this legend and can relate it to the other legends they have learned about.  The book also includes a brief history of the Navajo people and their customs.  I would have this book in the classroom so that students can learn more about Navajo legends and be able to compare numerous Navajo legends. 

   Lowell, Susan. Three Little Javelinas. Northland Publishing, 1992. Illustrator: Jim Harris.

This southwest retelling of the Three Little Pigs, a coyote seeks anthropomorphic javelinas in tumbleweed, saguaro rib, and adobe houses made with help from Native American and Latino characters. The illustrations help show the landscape of the southwest.  Students can use the book to learn the southwest retelling of The Three Little Pigs and also compare it to the story that they are familiar with.

   Lowell, Susan.  The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit. Northland Publishing, 1994. Illustrator: Jim Harris.

In a retelling of the fable, Tortoise and the Hare, Tortoise, a calmly confident old woman, challenges Jackrabbit, an overly confident lad, to a race across the American southwestern desert. The race passes by an assortment of desert plants and animals.  There is a pronunciation guide to help readers correctly read words.  Illustrations portray the desert fauna as curious, wide eyed townsfolk.  This story can be used to compare and contrast the two stories and students can write their own retelling of the story.

   Martin, Rafe. Boy Who Lived with the Seals. Putnam Publishing Group, 1993. Illustrator: David Shannon.

When their son disappeared, his parents thought they would never see him again. But years later, the boy was spotted swimming with the seals. Shannon's haunting pictures dramatize the bittersweet beauty of this traditional story from the Chinook people of the Northwest. Beautiful illustrations accompany story.  Students can discuss other stories that follow this same story line.

   McDermott, Gerald. Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest. Harcourt, 1994.

This book looks at the common trickster fool character so common in Native American folklore, Coyote.  Coyote is a big, bumbling, interfering copycat; he's rude, boastful, vain, and always in trouble. The storytelling show the oral tradition of the Native Americans.  The illustrations combine traditional geometric design.  This book is great for story telling, students will enjoy the story and pictures.  This book was chosen for a read aloud because students will enjoy the story and it shows the importance of the coyote in their culture.

   Mora, Pat. This Big Sky. Scholastic, Inc., 1998. Illustrator: Steve Jenkins.

This book contains fourteen short poems about the American Southwest. Each poem appears within a double page spread illustration featuring cut and torn papers of varied hues and textures. The artwork helps the reader to understand the text.  There are some Spanish words within the text and they help the context of the poems.  There is a glossary to show pronunciation and translation. This book is wonderful because it allows students to see poems that are reflective of the Native American culture. 

   Oughton, Jerrie. How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend.  Houghton Mifflin, 1992. Illustrator: Lisa Desimini.

This story is a retelling of a common Navajo Legend.  First Woman creates carefully designed patterns with the stars against the sky to serve as a uniform code of laws for all to see and observe.  She however, seeks help from Coyote, who messes up her plan for the world.  The illustrations help tell the story and show the importance of the story in the Navajo culture.  The students will learn how the Navajos believe the world was created.  This story shows the students a different approach to the creation of the world.

This article presents a list of children's books published by Sunshine Press.  Includes many books pertaining to the Southwest.  A great resource for beginning research or study of this region.

This article presents children's books that focus on the American Southwest.  Explanations of each book provided as well as a wonderful reference list.  A wonderful resource to have.