In a Circle Long Ago: A Treasury of Native Lore from North America:

by Nancy Van Laan, Lisa Desimini (Illustrator)

Celebrate earth's bounty and the inherent value of all living things with a lavish anthology of traditional Native American animal and nature lore, selected and retold especially for young children.  Representing 20 tribes and every ethnological region, this definitive treasury includes "Raven, the Rainmaker," the Tlingit tale of a generous act that brought fresh water to the earth; "The Corn Song," from the Dine, which celebrates the blue grain that is the tribe's staff of life; and "Coyote and the Blackbirds," a hilarious Pueblo legend about a conceited coyote who gets his comeuppance.  This rich reference tool also contains an introduction, appendix, map, and informative source notes.  Nancy Van Laan's spirited retellings and Lisa Desimini's stunning multimedia artwork make this an ideal read-aloud and a must-have addition to folklore collections.  A Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Selection.  

Genres: Picture Books, Native American, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 1995

About the author

Nancy Van Laan was born in Baton Rouge, La. Her father was a colonel in the US Air Force, and the family moved frequently as Van Laan was growing up. She began making up stories to pass the time on long car trips. Although Van Laan had a learning disability, she loved to read. She began drawing and writing poetry as a child and enjoyed illustrating her own stories. Van Laan also loved ballet and began taking lessons at the age of nine. By age seventeen, she had her own ballet company in Birmingham that performed on a weekly program broadcast on Alabama Educational TV (now Alabama Public Television). Van Laan’s dancing career ended after an injury she sustained as a student at Sullins College in Bristol, Va. After completing her AA degree at Sullins, she enrolled at the University of Alabama, earning her BA in radio and television in 1961.

Van Laan moved to New York after college. She worked briefly at an advertising company and then joined ABC-TV where she worked as a network censor from 1962 to 1966. Van Laan began writing at this time and also studied art. After her first two children were born, she resigned from ABC and began painting professionally, creating murals for schools and private clients. She earned an MFA in theater from Rutgers University in 1979 and wrote two plays which were performed regionally. Van Laan moved to eastern Pennsylvania where she taught English at a private boarding school from 1984 to 1989. She also taught creative writing at Rutgers from 1986 to 1989. Van Laan published her first book, The Big Fat Worm, in 1987. Two years later, she left teaching to write full time. Since then, Van Laan has published over two dozen books. One of these, Rainbow Crow, was featured on the PBS television series Reading Rainbow. Van Laan lives and writes in Doylestown, Pa.

Reviews

[Wesley Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book as research for a project I am working on with a friend. While it didn’t help my research, I loved learning about indigenous lore from all over North America. Gearing these tales to children is such a great way to start teaching more indigenous stories to a broader audience at a young age.

The introduction included a quick introduction to the author and her intentions behind writing this collection of stories. We then navigate across North America via tales rich with nature and animal imagery and lessons to be learned. The artwork fits perfectly with the stories, and I frequently caught myself pausing to take in the beautiful art and appreciate the choices of colours.

Regarding reviewing this for children, I think it’s a very approachable book for parents to read to young children or for older children to read on their own. The font size is great for kids and includes several interactive writing pieces, including noises and repetitive wording to entertain young children. There are lots of colourful pictures to accompany every story, providing a fully immersive reading experience.

I enjoyed the stories of mischievous animals using their cunning to solve a problem or to gain something. Fantastic book; I highly recommend it to my friends with children!

[Galion Public Library Teens · Rating 5 out of 5]

L.M. recommend it for "people who like Indians."

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book has beautiful artwork from a variety of mediums; a mix of legends, poetry and song; covers tribal literature from all areas of the US; and includes great resources in a map, and appendix for tribal facts.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, songs, poems that describe over twenty Native American Tribes. Great way to introduce kids to Native American culture and stories!

[Shauna]

This is a good book with a lot of shorter stories. It includes Native American tales, legends, songs, and poetry. This would be great for understanding Native American beliefs and history.