Moho Wat: Sheepeater Boy Attempts a Rescue

Amazing Indian Children

by Kenneth Thomasma

Nine-year-old Moho Wat, a Sheepeater Shoshoni boy, attempts an amazing rescue

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Native American, Childrens, Indigenous, Historical, Young Adult

Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

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

Reviews

[Judy]

rating: 3.5

Sheepeater/Shoshone, Yellowstone area of Wyoming

The adventure tale will keep kids' attention. I know that KT is criticized for not portraying native Americans accurately, but I hope that kids enjoy the story and walk away with some basic understandings such as: People lived in this country before Europeans arrived. They survived without all of the elaborate technology and 'stuff' that we have today. They understood their environment. Their feelings were much like our own.

Now for a criticism: Moho Wat loses his left hand in an accident in chapter 2. His adjustment was way too smooth. This incident could have been omitted and the story would have been even more realistic.

I was introduced to the idea of a sheep's horn bow ... now I want to know more.

[Anne Osterlund]

The Sheepeater tribe was the only tribe that wintered over in what is today Yellowstone National Park.

Imagine my surprise when I realized--only a week after finishing a course in which I had read a slew of books about Yellowstone & created a pair of related teaching units on the subject--that this book, which I had selected for my next read, was about a member of that tribe. LOL!

Moho Wat is about a boy who loses his hand in an accident and learns to pull a bow and hunt with his feet. He later witnesses the abduction of a girl from a friendly tribe and sets out to rescue her.

[Jeff]

Perhaps read this review

https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...

[Libby Hill]

I’m so bummed about this book. I’ve been on the look out for middle grade novels that highlight Indigenous heritage for the western US and this author is the only one I’ve found who highlights kids from the Shoshone and Bannock tribes.

My kids and I invested more than several read aloud sessions in this and were initially excited about Moho Wat’s story and learning about his people who lived high up in the Yellowstone/Teton area. We were impressed with the description of Moho Wat and his father’s hard work creating strong bows out of sheep horns boiled down in the natural hot springs at the very beginning of the book. And my boys have been trying to shoot their bows with their feet the last couple days, too.

But the writing was so bad! My kids all agreed the author took too long to say very little and 9 year old Moho Wat didn’t act like he was 9 years old past the first 3 chapters (running to the rescue of a girl he fell in love with before ever speaking to her). My kids checked out five chapters in and asked me to simply read ahead and share the synopsis. So sad!!!

The author wrote with heavy-handed, sledgehammer foreshadowing and pointedly told us over and over again obvious emotions of the characters. It was a great example of how “telling” over “showing” makes you feel less invested in a story. At least it provided some good discussion about that very thing while contrasting this book to Farmer Boy by Wilder.

I’m soooo disappointed! Where are the strong, middle grade writers of Indigenous heritage for this region of the country?!?

[Lab]

Awesome. Powerful. Survival. Bravery. Loss and gain. Losing a hand ,using a foot. Good archer. Friend.

[Aleena Grosjean]

I starting reading this because my son's fourth grade class was reading it. These are great stories. I highly recommend.

[Leah]

Captivating. A boy who doesn’t let challenges stop him.

[Kate Endres]

read this book when i was like 10 and i still think about it to this day tbh

[Caitlyn Unruh]

proofread for the library. fantastic book. easy pass.

[Shimmywith4]

Such a good book. I could NOT put it down and had it read in two hours.
Easy enough for children, action packed enough for adults.
Full of lessons about the area around Yellowstone national Park and, more importantly, about courage, bravery, patience and self worth.

[Michelle]

good addition to series, not white bashing like some, about Sheepeaters

[Michelle]

Kids loved this book, but pretty juvenile writing. I'd love for the boys to read others of his books, but probably independently!

[Mandy]

Fascinating story about the native people who lived year round in the mountains of what is now Yellowstone Park. Written for children, the writing style is simple, but the content is interesting.

[Laura]

I’ve read this book many times during 4th grade reading groups over the years. The kids love it also!