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In Their Own Words
In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull
With these words, Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. government on July 20, 1881, after spending most of his life trying to protect his people. A proud father and brave warrior, Sitting Bull wanted the Lakota Sioux to continue hunting buffalo and roaming the Plains. Although he lost this battle, Sitting Bull is remembered for his brave actions and notable accomplishments. In this new biography of Sitting Bull, kids will marvel at this man who lived a life full of adventure and who was noted for his courage.
128 pages, Library Binding
First published October 1, 2002
63 people want to read
About the author
Connie Roop
162 books7 followersPeter Roop, a Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year, has been bringing books and children together for over 30 years. He has written extensively for Cricket and Cobblestone Magazines. He currently writes and speaks full-time. Last year he visited 10 states and talked with over 10,000 students! Connie Roop, a high school environmental science teacher, is a recipient of the Women Leaders in Education Award from the American Association of University Women and a Kohl Education Foundation Award for Exceptional Teaching. Last Year Connie visited four states and shared her writing experiences with 5,000 students..
Together, Connie and Peter have written 100 children's books ranging from historical fiction to nonfiction. Seven of their books are "Reading Rainbow" books, including Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie, a Feature Book. Their books have received recognition from the National Association of Science Teachers, National Council of Teachers of English, the Children's Book Council, and the American Library Association. They have presented over 800 workshops for students, educators and writers in 26 states as well as Europe, Africa and Asia.
Together, Connie and Peter have written 100 children's books ranging from historical fiction to nonfiction. Seven of their books are "Reading Rainbow" books, including Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie, a Feature Book. Their books have received recognition from the National Association of Science Teachers, National Council of Teachers of English, the Children's Book Council, and the American Library Association. They have presented over 800 workshops for students, educators and writers in 26 states as well as Europe, Africa and Asia.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 9, 2025
I would recommend this book. This book would be a good read for middle school kids. This story of Sitting Bull gives a good depiction of the tragedies and broken promises the Lakota people faced.
It gives a history of a great leader; that cared deeply for his people and went out of his way to help the poor.
It gives a history of a great leader; that cared deeply for his people and went out of his way to help the poor.
February 25, 2018
i liked it
March 9, 2025
Humbly, giving a chance to read a story based on real events of Native American history was a risk that could have gone quite wrong. Due to the “bad” reputation that history books have and my inexperience reading educational books, I was pretty scared to read Sitting Bull. Fortunately, this book has captivated me and awakened in me a new interest which I have never thought would attract me: ancient tribal culture and beliefs.
Owing to the fact of the scarce length of the book, it is fair to mention that P. and C. Roop do a great job summarising the whole life, from birth to death, of an iconic character like Sitting Bull. Despite that, not only do they offer a quick but effective view of the main events lived by the protagonists, but the pace of the book takes time to exhaustively develop and raise awareness about the Hunkpapa tribe and their culture. Nevertheless, the story takes place in South Dakota the authors jump directly to the “action” in order to tell a breathtaking tale.
The main focus of the book is without any doubt its characters, being Sitting Bull one of the most astonishing and convincing figures I have ever read. Being extremely likeable, believable and natural, one cannot fail to fall in love with their culture and their peaceful life philosophy. Whilst it is certainly true that the colonizer American soldiers are depicted as villainous, monstrous and extremely vile, the book puts forward the never-heard version of the story from the colonised tribes, that were transgressed and annihilated nearly to extinction.
There’s a need to shed light on the fact that the book is quite predictable at times in terms of plot and story. However, taking into consideration that the story is real practically in its entirety and doesn’t add fictional details, it is obvious to suggest that Sitting Bull is not surprising when it comes to narrative. As commonly used in biographical novels, the book is exposed in a clear and simple chronological order, without jumps in time or excessive pauses in unimportant events.
The writing for the book is weak, compared to what it could have been. In a nutshell, the Lakota culture is extremely rich and includes many foreign elements that we don’t have in our Western capitalist culture, which could have been described profoundly throughout the whole book, rather than just mentioning what seems to be essential for the plot. Besides, Sitting Bull can be read by students with an intermediate level of English without any problem in terms of vocabulary and grammar structures, thus, it feels narratively and stylistically shallow and dull if you are a C2 reader looking for mature and advanced writing.
Sitting Bull is far from being perfect, but there are some excellent aspects that make the book worthy to be read. In spite of its flaws, this novel serves its purpose and raises awareness about other cultures, while it offers the reader a wholesome and easy-to-follow experience, perfect for the younger readership. The book is a great opportunity to broaden one’s horizons in order to learn contemporary history from a new and surprising, yet memorable, perspective: the warriors of Native American ancient tribes.
Owing to the fact of the scarce length of the book, it is fair to mention that P. and C. Roop do a great job summarising the whole life, from birth to death, of an iconic character like Sitting Bull. Despite that, not only do they offer a quick but effective view of the main events lived by the protagonists, but the pace of the book takes time to exhaustively develop and raise awareness about the Hunkpapa tribe and their culture. Nevertheless, the story takes place in South Dakota the authors jump directly to the “action” in order to tell a breathtaking tale.
The main focus of the book is without any doubt its characters, being Sitting Bull one of the most astonishing and convincing figures I have ever read. Being extremely likeable, believable and natural, one cannot fail to fall in love with their culture and their peaceful life philosophy. Whilst it is certainly true that the colonizer American soldiers are depicted as villainous, monstrous and extremely vile, the book puts forward the never-heard version of the story from the colonised tribes, that were transgressed and annihilated nearly to extinction.
There’s a need to shed light on the fact that the book is quite predictable at times in terms of plot and story. However, taking into consideration that the story is real practically in its entirety and doesn’t add fictional details, it is obvious to suggest that Sitting Bull is not surprising when it comes to narrative. As commonly used in biographical novels, the book is exposed in a clear and simple chronological order, without jumps in time or excessive pauses in unimportant events.
The writing for the book is weak, compared to what it could have been. In a nutshell, the Lakota culture is extremely rich and includes many foreign elements that we don’t have in our Western capitalist culture, which could have been described profoundly throughout the whole book, rather than just mentioning what seems to be essential for the plot. Besides, Sitting Bull can be read by students with an intermediate level of English without any problem in terms of vocabulary and grammar structures, thus, it feels narratively and stylistically shallow and dull if you are a C2 reader looking for mature and advanced writing.
Sitting Bull is far from being perfect, but there are some excellent aspects that make the book worthy to be read. In spite of its flaws, this novel serves its purpose and raises awareness about other cultures, while it offers the reader a wholesome and easy-to-follow experience, perfect for the younger readership. The book is a great opportunity to broaden one’s horizons in order to learn contemporary history from a new and surprising, yet memorable, perspective: the warriors of Native American ancient tribes.
July 25, 2011
The Lakota say, "A people without history is like wind in the buffalo grass." If the past is forgotten, it will blow away as wind leaves no trail in the grass.
As a leader of his people, Sitting null will never be forgotten.
As a leader of his people, Sitting null will never be forgotten.
July 22, 2016
This is part of a series of nonfiction for younger readers called In Their Own Words. Other books in the series include Benjamin Franklin and Sojourner Truth. These books are a great introduction to nonfiction. They are easy to read and full of pictures and other illustrative material.
April 2, 2009
It is a great book about the Sioux and Sitting Bulls life.
July 25, 2011
The Lakota say, "A people without history is like wind in the buffalo grass." If the past is forgotten, it will blow away just as wind leaves no trail in the grass.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2015
Love it!!! ☺
Want to read
May 29, 2017I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13118338
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13118338
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews