Horn Book Review
Bruchac and Jacob collaborate once again in this collection of poems and songs from ten different tribes. The tribal origin of each piece is provided, and the illustrations reflect elements specific to that tribe. The book opens with an author's note and concludes with two pages of further information about the reasons Native Americans offer thanks for the natural world that sustains them. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Bruchac (Children of the Longhouse, p. 685, etc.) gathers 14 traditional Native American poems of appreciation and respect for nature's gifts. It is a wide sampling, drawn from Cherokee (thanks for medicine plants), Kwakiutl (a prayer for cedar roots), Pawnee (a nod to the stars that guide), and Navajo (an exultation of thunder) traditions. From the Mohawk comes the warm ``Thanks to Mother Earth,'' who is ``there to catch us/if we should fall''; from the Papago, the wonderful ``Song for the Corn,'' which asks, ``Am I corn of two colors,/am I crazy corn,/singing in the wind?'' This excellent collection inspires celebration and thanksgiving for all meaningful things in life. Jacob's stylized illustrations are an eyeful, smartly situating each of the native people in their respective landscapes. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Gr. 1^-5. Readers hungry for more material with roots in traditional Native American songs and prayers may want to give thanks for this book. Bruchac has created 13 brief, original poems, "based in part on traditional Native American songs and prayers," that can function as chants, prayers, or songs (although no musical notation is included). Native American groups, ranging from the Mohawk of the eastern woodlands and the Kwakiutl of the Northwest Coast to the Osage of the Great Plains are represented. Jacob's illustrations are reminiscent of those he created for Gayle Ross' How Rabbit Tricked Otter (1994). Here, the text is placed in small boxed insets on double-page spreads, with the pictures revealing much of cultural significance. More about each group's culture is provided in appended notes, and sources are acknowledged. --Karen Morgan
