Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places

by Joseph Bruchac, Thomas Locker (Illustrator)

The silent stories of our ancient land and its native peoples are given voice in reverential prose poems and radiant paintings.

Genres: Picture Books, Native American, Folklore, Childrens, Poetry, Native Americans, Young Adult

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

Joseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.

He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.

As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten Native American legends - each having to do with a sacred place - are presented in this picture-book by Joseph Bruchac, a prolific children's author of Abenaki heritage. Using the framing device of a conversation between a young Delaware man named Little Turtle, and his Uncle Old Bear, Bruchac relates a diverse range of stories, from the Wampanoag tale of Mau-shop, the helpful giant who transformed himself into a white whale, and swam off to the east, to the Hopi tradition concerning the Grand Canyon, which reminds us that there have been four worlds, of which this current one is just the latest.

Other selections include the Seneca tale concerning the Thunder Beings who lived in a cave beneath the great falls known as Ne-ah-ga (Niagara), and the young woman who became the wife of their chief; the Navajo story of He-Who-Kicks-Them-Over-The-Cliff, a terrible ogre defeated by the Hero Twins, whose remains can be seen in the rock formation known today as El Capitan; and the Cherokee legend concerning Buzzard's role in shaping the Great Smoky Mountains. The Papago (Tohono O'odham) belief that the desert cacti are ancient people sworn to watch over them, and that the clouds are living beings; the Abenaki tradition concerning the islands in lake Pe-ton-bowk (Champlain), said to belong to the Thunder Beings; and the Walapai explanation for the deserted Anasazi ruins, are also included. Finally, the Cheyenne story of how people came to hunt buffalo, rather than the other way around, and the Hopewell connection to the great serpentine earth-mounds of Ohio, round out the selections.

With an engaging free-verse narrative, and beautiful oil illustrations by Thomas Locker, Between Earth & Sky offers a lovely sampling of Native American place tales. Each selection is just long enough to give an idea of the rich tradition behind it, each painting emphasizes the beauty and wonder of the sacred place being depicted. Children with an interest in these kind of tales will probably want to find fuller, more detailed versions, but this is a good place to start, particularly for younger readers.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and Bruchac always does a wonderful job writing informative and approachable descriptions. This one covers a variety of places sacred to different native tribes.

[Shacora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Folklore/Legends

There are lots of different tales to choose from in this text. Due to the complexity, I would suggest this book for students somewhere in 5-7. I actually have personal experience using this text in a 4th grade classroom and the majority of the kids were very confused by the wording. After splitting the stories down into smaller pieces and analyzing them they were able to create a better understanding of what the text actually said, both explicitly and implicitly. There are very nice pictures throughout the text, although most of them are not intricately detailed. The book gives very detailed accounts of Native American culture. It speaks on their loyalty to the land, animals, and a host of other topics that are essential to Native American life. This book could also be used in a social studies connection to further understand and explain the culture. Unfortunately because it is such a complex read for children and involves lots of explanation and chunking to understand, I slightly reduced the star rating even though it does provide great information.






Awards:

[Suki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a turtle his uncle tells him many stories about the scale place. Beginning of the story uncle bear tells turtle the any scale place has a story. In the middle of the story, uncle bear tells him the story about the scale place in their arrivals. At the end of the story, the turtle learns many things and he knows a reason every place they go is a scary place if they remember that they always carry the teachings with them. I think this book is can give kids to read because this book is about Indigenous people write poems so it can let the kid learn many things about scared places. And I really like this book because it uses poems to talk about the story about scary places and the most important thing is it lets me more Interested in the poem.

[LeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of legends associated with well-known places like Niagara Falls, the Great Smokey Mountains, or Mesa Verde, this picture book is intended for adults and older children, not the usual pre-school audience. I especially enjoyed the paintings of places I have visited. Not all are specifically sacred locations, other than the Native teaching that all nature is sacred. I loved the idea in the introduction that there are 7 directions--east, south, west, north, earthward, skyward and inward. A map at the back locates various tribes in the US and southern Canada, not just the ones whose stories are represented. I found the frame story of Little Turtle and Old Bear somewhat stilted, an all-too-obvious didactic setup I could have done without.

[Ashlyn Littlefield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are remarkable! They really show what the Native American sacred places were like. I love that the writer added a cute story of a turtle and his uncle learning, getting taught valuable things in life. Wonderful book!

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely illustrated and well written. Bruchac does a good job of celebrating a selection of indigenous sacred places in North America.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of legends.

I thought this was an impressive book.

Reading time around twenty minutes.

[LaDow Picture · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit long for library. Not sure if it could keep their attention.

[Tony Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations by Thomas Locker and meaningful story by Joseph Bruchac.

[Farleyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great native American stories and pictures

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book! I learned so much! and the illustrations of Thomas Locker are wonderful!

[Maddie Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this is a really beautiful book, with really beautiful illustrations! I also like how this goes over Native American History!

[Camden Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. The illustrations are gorgeous. I like that each page is like a little letter. This book seems like it would be catered towards older children.

[ThreeSonorans Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and talks about a really deep topic but in a simple way. Traveling in that 7th direction is the challenge of a lifetime but can be done here and now.

[Nicole Gustafson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This unique multicultural story starts by having a little boy’s uncle tell the story of 11 different Native American Legends. The little boy (Little Turtle) and his uncle (Old Bear) talks about how sacred places are everywhere… Each legend that is told to Little Turtle is directed towards a particular direction (North, South, West, East, Above, Below and the place Within). The legends encompass the Wampanoag (East), Seneca (North), Navajo (West), Cherokee (South), Papago (West), Hopewell (Center), Cheyenne (Above), Hopi (Below), Walapai (Balance Lost) and the Abenaki (Balance Held). Each legend teaches Little Turtle about a small piece of each tribes History. This author provides a detailed map in the back of the text that depicts where each tribe is from along with a pronunciation page of each tribes name.

This story would be considered a Traditional Literature book as well as a picture book. Even though this is lengthier than most picture books, the pictures add to the experience of the legends. The Traditional Literature category fits this book because the legends are based in history, however these stories embellish the life of a real person. These legends are passed down from generation to generation and they are called traditional literature because they slowly change over time.

This is a great resource for anyone, from teachers who teach about Native American’s or Legends to adults that are looking for a great bedtime story for their children, this book has it all. Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker to a great job pairing simple fonts to beautiful pictures, each picture has such detail and precision, it is a wonder these pictures are not in galleries themselves. I cannot say enough great things about this book, the author does a great job bringing out the personal tone and flavor of the Native American in a way that shows respect and admiration. The author uses alot of voice in this story in order to make sure there are no misconceptions about the main message.

If you loved this book as much as I did, please consider these mentor texts:

If You Lived with the Hopi by Anne Kamma
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet by Tomie DePaola
Buffalo Bird Girl by S.D. Nelson

[Marisol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot Summary:

In this book, Joseph Bruchac, an Abenaki Indian, narrates ten legends of Native American sacred places of the following tribes: Wampanoag, Seneca, Navajo, Cherokee, Papago, Hopewell, Cheyenne, Hopi, Walapai, and Abenaki. To help readers, there is an “About this Book” section, a map of the U.S. with geographical markers indicating the location of the original Native nations, and a pronunciation guide.

Critical Analysis:

The two main characters in this story are Little Turtle and his uncle Old Bear, two Delaware Indians who discuss the legends of other Native American tribes. The other characters in this book are mentioned briefly in the legend they are depicted. However, the legends and the characters in the legend do reflect the distinct cultural experiences of the specific Native nation highlighted. As for the setting in the book, the setting changes for each legend because each legend is set in a different geographical location with differing environments. The illustration that goes with the legend is consistent with the setting of the geographical region where the Native American tribe is located. As for the depiction of the Native American culture, the book is rich in cultural details and are consistent with the ten specific cultures mentioned in the book: Wampanoag, Seneca, Navajo, Cherokee, Papago, Hopewell, Cheyenne, Hopi, Walapai, and Abenaki. Each legend is unique and accurately represent the sacred places of the ten Native American tribes in the book.

As for the illustrations, the beautiful landscapes are captivating and are extremely detailed that they resemble photographs taken by a professional photographer. Thomas Locker’s perfect blend of watercolors make the paintings so realistic that readers feel like they are actually at the sacred places. The U.S. map illustration is also helpful in that it accurately locates the Native American tribes as well as the ten sacred places mentioned in the book. All in all, I recommend this picture book because the legends of the Native American sacred places are interesting and provide insight to ten Native nations and their most cherished places.

[Liane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: Historical Native American picture book

Reading Level: Transitional

Topics & Themes: Native American seven directions of sacred places. Geography: each legend is based in actual locations.

Curricular Use: Independent reading. Each short story can be used as a read aloud.

Social: Introduction of Native American culture. Connection of ourselves and the Earth that surrounds us.

Literary Elements: No discernible plot, but ten separate stories/legends. Map of the legends found in the book. Dictionary of Native American language.

Text & Pictures: Interaction of text an pictures. The illustrations are beautiful and transport you to the places in the story.

Additional Notes: Unfortunately, I could not connect with the book, even though I found a few of the legends educational and entertaining, most were abrupt and dry.

I was amused by the Hero Twins and could actually visualize the ogre on the cliff being turned into stone.

I also liked the Hopi legend of the Grand Canyon and how the people climbed higher and higher, leaving the dark, dangerous world behind them.

Buffalo challenging the humans to a race to see who would hunt who.

These were the only three stories that I could actually imagine and fit into the geographical locations of the stories.

[Julian Franklin]

Joseph Bruchac has ancestry in Abenaki- Native Americans. He uses his heritage to demonstrate the value of everything on earth and between the sky. The stories that were passed down to him helped him create a wonderful story and place value in the book itself.
Although his content is wonderful, the organization could be better. I think that Bruchac's poem format helps children learn about poems, but may not be fluid enough to allow children to fully comprehend the message he is trying to convey. Also, it makes the message that harder to follow due to it's poetic style.
I would use this book to teach how the Native Americans value every place that the Earth has touched with beauty. It even brings beauty to the places we might not generally think as beautiful or sacred. It describes the desert as "always filled with life," and clear air, and "the sound of blessing rains," which are not the words we usually use to describe the desert. Mostly, deserts are taught to be dry and hot and miserably. Beautifully, Bruchac describes the thunder as a gift and a friend. I think that this book will help children understand the value of the world and how and where to look for places that can be sacred to us.

[Tillie Torpey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruchac, J. and Locker, T. (1999). Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places. HMH Books for Young Readers: Reprint edition.

Theme/Topic: The native people and the sacred land

Critique (comments, observations, questions):
One observation of this book was that it was in story-form, meaning it was told in a way that some native peoples’ might tell a story: between and an elder and a youth. I think it’s really important that through modern literature, diverse groups of people implement their own structure of how their culture tells their stories because it offers diversity in the structure of education.

Various Teaching Ideas:
Strategies in a way I would use this book to teach in my class would be: (1) teaching about the relationship between people and the environment, (2) multiculturalism, (3) importance of protecting land, and (4) providing an opportunity in seeing if how this story is told is an effective teaching strategy for students.

[Cherina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Old Bear describes to Little Turtle places throughout the United States that are considered sacred by the Native American cultures. He provides the background story behind each location. At the end, Old Bear tells Little Turtle that everything on Earth is sacred and places the pressure to respect nature on humans.

Uses: Read aloud to class, exposure to Native American culture, recommend to fluent readers interested in Native American legends or in geography

Literary Devices: personification, simile

Social issues: Native American legends, protecting our environment, looking at the world with a new perspective, living in harmony with nature

Other: While I would consider this book to be fictional, it provides a lot of Native American legends that are interesting and good for child to hear. The illustrations are beautifully done and further add to the story.

[Loray · Rating 5 out of 5]

K-3
Fiction
shared reading
read aloud
Through the guidance of his uncle and the retelling of various Native American legends, a young boy learns that everything living and inanimate has its place and should be considered sacred and given respect.

Adventure-Discovery/Exploration; Award Winners-American Bookseller Pick of the List; Canadian Content-Canadian Content (All); Folklore/Fables/Myths-Folklore/Fables/Myths (All); People-Native American; Recommended Reading-NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies;

[Corby Lancaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre- Nonfiction

Reading Level- Grades 1-4

Topic and Themes- Native American sacred places and respect for the earth

Curricula Use- Read aloud

Social- Respecting the earth

Literary Elements- Shows beautiful pictures in order to express the importance of respecting the earth

Text and Pictures- Beautiful pictures of scenery

Summary- This is an excellent book to stress the importance of having respect for our earth. This bok could be used along with an earth day lesson. The illustrations are beautiful and excentuate the beauty of the earth.

[Carly Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Level: Transitional

Genre: Picture Book

Curricular use: Read Aloud (introduction to unit)

Topic: Native American Culture, connections with nature, legends

Social: Passing down legends from generation to generation

Literary Elements: Personification, story telling

Strong connection between the pictures and the text (the color scheme really emphasizes the native American culture and theme)

[Ryan Treaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an educational book for children and really helps students get the feel for different native american tribes. It also stresses that the earth and sky are sacred and should be to everyone.Grade Level


Pages-15
Reading level- Transitional ( tribe names are difficult)
Curricular uses- Read Aloud or Independent Reading
social issues- protecting the land that we live on is an issue that is discussed

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

genre - nonfiction

reading level - 2nd to 4th grade

topic and themes - Native America sacred places- short stories, locations of the different tribes are shown on the map

curricula use - read aloud

social - how we can connect to our earth

literary elements - no real plot, heavy imagery throughout the book, map and pronunciation key included

text and pictures - beautiful paintings

[Shannon Amici · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading level-2-5th grade

Genre-non fiction

Topic-environmental connections

Social-Native American legends, environment, nature

Curricula Use-read aloud

Literary Elements-personification

Text and pictures-paintings get you involved in the culture and environment of the book

Summary- Old Bear and Little Turtle learn sacred Native American places throughout the US. At the end, Old Bear explains to Little Turtle that everything is sacred on earth.

[Brandin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture book/fiction

Topic/Theme: Native American history, mythology, folklore, ancestry/family, nature, environmentalism, religion, spirituality

Grade Level: K-3

Classroom Use: Read aloud, guided reading, independent reading

Comments: Good for integrating into a lesson about Native American history.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book shows the readers about Native American culture and places and thoughts that the Native American people value. However, I thought that the book could be made the story of the legends more interesting and appealing to a younger reader.