Om-Kas-Toe: Blackfeet Twin Captures an Elkdog

Amazing Indian Children

by Kenneth Thomasma, Jack Brouwer (Illustrator)

Life changes dramatically for the Blackfeet people in the early 1700's when a twin brother and sister discover a strange animal and succeed in bringing it back to the tribe.

Genres: Historical Fiction, American History, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, School, Young Adult

Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Kenneth Thomasma is a professional storyteller and writing workshop leader who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, please, ignore the cover art on this book- the other illustrations are great, and I'm sure the cover illustrator was trying their best :)

Om-Kas-Toe is the retelling of stories passed down for generations through the Blackfeet tribe about the lives of Blackfeet children in the early 1700's. The lovely thing about this book is that it is devoid of Western interpretation: it does not have the 'pitiful native' slant, nor the 'idealized native' slant. This is their culture, their lives, and there are things that make modern people cringe, and things that modern people can learn from. It is somewhat a slice-of-life story and moves slowly at times, but keeps you interested the whole way through, and is obviously very educational.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps read this review

https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, Om-Kas-Toe is a pretty OK book. The story is pretty laid back, but exciting at the same time. It was interesting to learn what the Indian tribes had to go through to survive. There where many suspenseful points, that really capture your attention.

That being said, there was a few minor things that bothered me. Sometimes, the book seemed to take on more of a textbook-feel. It seemed like the author threw in a fact here and there that kind of took away from the freshness of the environment. Don't get me wrong, sometimes those little facts are very interesting, and I'll admit that a few of the facts in the book were perfectly necessary. But other times, like when Om-Kas-Toe finds Mammoth Hot Springs, it's like "Oh...okay.". He never goes back to that location in the book ever again. It would have been nice if it was a reoccurring area, like one that he went back to for shelter.

Besides that the book was well made and I would recommend it if you wanted to read it. Once you get into the book, you probably won't notice the little thing because of it's likable characters and intriguing story.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed thinking about this band of Blackfoot wandering in parts of Montana that I have visited. It is a solid introduction for children into that exciting time when the Blackfoot first encountered horses and the way those animals expanded their lives.

I pre-read this book for my son. I took it to his sports practice one evening and a friend commented that she had read all of Thomasma’s books for children as a youngster. Apparently, the author had visited their elementary school and the books captured their imaginations. They were the script notes for the neighborhood kids’ summer play.

My son enjoyed the stories too and was happy to narrate them to me.

[Jersc · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sons, ages 9 and 12, and I read this to learn more about Native American Indians. This tribe was especially interesting to us as they lived somewhat close to us. My boys loved it and gave it five stars. For me, the writing was monotonous and lagged many times. The story was a bit over the top too. It was hard to believe that all these miraculous things just kept happening to this one young boy. But overall, I'm glad we read it and learned about their culture and way of life.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids LOVED this book! We read it as part of our Sonlight Core D home-school curriculum. It is scheduled for 2 weeks, but they finished it in less than a week. They were begging me to keep reading. Highly recommend.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a-loud for CC1 wk 18 and 19 (started at the end of wk 17 :)...krb 2/19/16

Jacob rates 4 stars, Ellie and Mom 3 stars..krb 3/3/16

[Hannah Shaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I preread this for my AGF Cycle 2, Form 2 student. Although a fictionalized storyline, the author does a good job illustrating what life might have been like for a Blackfeet boy. He describes how dangerous hunting was before the horse, the challenges of getting horses, and touches on the value the horse brings to their tribe all in a narrative way. The simple style of writing might reflect a simple form of the Native American language. The storyline is exciting. It's a good read!

[Marilyn Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very poorly written. I found myself adding adjectives and compound sentences just to make it sound like a first grader didn’t write it. The storyline was interesting and we learned quite a bit about the Blackfeet Indians, so that was a plus, but the writer needs some writing training, IMHO.

[Shinae Wyckoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a quick pre-read, it looks like it’s written in short sentences for middle graders to read to themselves. Too choppy for good read-aloud option. Appears to be a good slice-of-life tale for young readers.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story

[Mike Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dramatic Native American story, love of ravens

(with Asher)

[Shiloh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was fun because the author is from my hometown and I found an autographed copy at my local bookstore. I have another autographed copy of his first book, Naya Nuki, that I read as a kid.

[Samantha Zurbrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for Crosby’s BookShark, was not my fave.

[Rin The Frawg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Their soulless eyes will haunt you.

[Stephanie Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book with my daughter for 4th grade and we enjoyed it very much!!

[Victoria (hotcocoaandbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice way to tell some history of the Blackfeet tribe and how they were able to first encounter horses, known as "elkdogs" as they called them (there is a story behind that, but I will let you read the book to find out).

My only issue with this book is that sometimes the conversations would be in quotes and other times it was not. That was weird. Also when the dad, Otterman, would talk, it seemed like he didn't know how to speak properly. He was given speech with the white version of dumbing down natives. He was talking in his own language and not in an attempt to speak English, so why did that happen?

My sons really enjoyed this book and would rate it higher than I did, but it was enjoyable just the same. I feel sometimes things were dragged out in order to tell of the locations of the landscape how it is today, in comparison to in the 1700s, where the book is set.

[Dottie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jillian - 5/5 stars, overall a really really good book. There is one thing I didn’t like about it though. Twin Girl wasn’t getting enough credit. Favorite character - Twin Girl, because she was so compassionate for her brother. Favorite part - when Om-Kas-Toe gets the mare.

George - 5/5, it was a great book about native americans and I feel like I know more about their culture reading it. Favorite character - Wise Bird, he was mischievous and fun. Favorite part - when Om saved Wise Bird.

Dottie - 4/5, it was a good telling but I found it odd that the narrator frequently broke the story to tell us where they were in our current Geography. Favorite character - Twin Girl l, I liked her intuition. Favorite part - when Twin Girl didn’t give up and found Om.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "life changes dramatically for the Blackfeet people in the early 1700's when a twin brother and sister discover a stange animal and succeed in bringing it back to the tribe."

My Review: This was a re-read from when I was a kid. It has been so many years since I read this book and it was great to read it again. I love the way Thomasma presents Native American history in stories and pulls young readers into the books. I found myself not being able to put this book down. The events that take place in Om's life are thrilling and so fun to read. I can't wait for munchkin to be old enough to read this book too.

[Jamey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a young Indian boy named Om-kas-toe, and the many adventures he experiences. We are told the story of his birth, and how his mother fought to keep both Om and his twin sister. We follow Om’s journey as a youth, his mysterious friendship with the raven Wise Bird, and how he always used the peculiar things that happened to him to the advantage of his people. Om-kas-toe’s story follows the introduction of horses to the Blackfeet people, and how it forever changed how they lived.
This book is a detailed glimpse into the world of the Blackfeet people, through the fictional story of Om. My son read this book aloud to me, and he enjoyed it very much.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ds gives this book a four star rating, because it sucked him into the story. I didn't like how repetitive it was. But I suppose for younger readers this is good.
Tall Woman is the mother of Twin Boy and Twin Girl and she must plead to keep them both. She must prove that both babies will not be a burden to the tribe. Old Man allows her to do just this, because she has always been a good person in the tribe never complaining and always doing her work.
This is a story of how the elkdogs (horses) come into the lives of the buffalo tribes.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The is a unique book about 2 blackfeet Indian children. This historical fiction book is based on actual legends still told around campfires today. It details the life of this tribe before they got horses, and how it changed after horses became a part of their life. In this story, the blackfeet twins were instrumental in capturing the first "Elk-dog" (their name for horses) This was a good beginning for our homeschool studying early American History.

[Ashley Klock · Rating 4 out of 5]

My six year old daughter loved this tale of a young native boy in the 1700s and the discovery of horses. I appreciated the historical markers throughout the book to present day landmarks/highways. I look forward to reading this book again when she is studying more in depth geography of the United States. The author is clearly a historian and does a wonderful job transporting the reader to this point in history.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Om-kas-toe is our first Thomasma book but with this enthusiasm from my kiddos it will not be our last. It was a great view into the past. The Blackfeet tribe is not one that I am familiar with but I would not hesitate to look at them for more stories. We enjoyed this as part of our Introduction to American History part 1 studies from our gently used BookShark Reading with History Level 3. If I were to do it again, I would have bought Sonlight D. We own this book.

[=☆Silver-Lining☆= (Huge Reading Slump) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a lot of good life lessons that help you in life. One of them were to have a good relationship with your siblings or your family. The author was very good with being descriptive like how he described the black mare and the hot spring! I also liked how the author told us where the places Om Kas Toe was at in the present. Twin Girl was my favorite character. The setting was in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. I wonder what they will change Twin Girl's name to...

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 11 year old loved this book. I found him actually reading this casually and not when I asked him to for school (even though it is assigned reading for our homeschool curriculum.) I didn’t read it so I can’t speak for the content, but I would label him a reluctant reader/ someone that has to be heavily encouraged to read a book. The fact he actually was interested in this was huge! He also said it was a 5 star book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read aloud. It was a bit slow at first, but my children found it very interesting. This story is about two young Blackfeet Indian Children who have amazing adventures together. They discover and help capture the tribe's first "Elk-dogs" (horses). This was a good start for our new year of American History in our homeschool.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book for the perseverance of character. And it has a good story line. But the fact that twins were looked on as a bad omen so they left one baby behind, discarded & abandoned on the ground really hit me wrong. I know it's a part of history, & sadly still happens today. But that doesn't make it right.

[Garret Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the best! It was really eventful, cool and dramatic. I liked chapter 12 and 13! My favorite character was Om-Kas-Toe! I liked when he stole the black mane with a white diamond on its head! It shows that he really cares for it! I also liked Wise Bird. I liked how the book showed where he was heading sometimes. It is really interesting and cool! It helps you "explore" wherever he is.

[Andrea Maendel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter read this aloud to me as her assigned 4th grade reader and we both enjoyed it. It was a neat peek into the early life of the Blackfeet people who lived in the Montana region of the US. How much of this story is legend and how much is actually true is in question a bit, but nevertheless it gives great insight to their values and history.