Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend (Native American Legends) [Paperback]

Gloria Dominic (Author), Charles Reasoner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Native American Legends & Lore

Young Brave Bear must figure out a way to outwit four ghosts who are haunting him in this humorous Sioux legend.

The Legends of the World opens readers' minds to the diverse cultures of Native America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Americas through enchanting tales passed down through countless generations. Each book in the series features geographical, historical, and cultural information. Illustrated in full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Each tape features a story from a Native American tribe, a brief account of the tribe's culture and history, and a glossary of terms. The two distinctly different delivery styles of the narrators reflect the wide range of moods conveyed in this collection of legends. Mara DeMey's soft voice fits the gentleness of the stories which describe the character's love for the earth, while the highly animated performance that Peter Thomas delivers is appropriate for the briskly paced adventure tales. The background animal sounds in each story give listeners the sensation of being close to nature. The paperback books feature boldly colored illustrations. Elementary school teachers and students will find this collection informative and entertaining.-Mark P. Tierney, William B. Wade Elementary School, Waldorf, MD

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Troll Communications; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816745110
• ISBN-13: 978-0816745111
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > United States
  • #6 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > United States
  • #79 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Multicultural

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wondeful illustrations of the ghosts in this first rate Lakota legend, August 31, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend (Native American Lore and Legends) (Library Binding)

I have liked Charles Reasoner's artwork for these Native American Lore & Legends series books, but "Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend" is my new favorite because of the way he does the ghosts. You get a hint of it from the cover painting with Brave Bear on the left and a ghost riding a ghost horse on the right. But the ghosts are, for the most part, more purple than what you see. Reasoner's figures usually do not have mouths and for eyes just the little slits we would all associate with Snoopy in the "Peanuts" cartoons. This time, there are mouths for these figures, but mouths that suggest the space between the cranium and the jaw on a skull. The eyes are still little slits, but they have a dark circle around them. The shades of purple are also really cool. Too bad they are the villains in the story, retold by Gloria Dominic.

It is always winter in the land of ghosts and as they sit around talking about how much fun it is to scare people one of them tells of Brave Bear, a warrior and hunter who laughs in the face of death. The ghosts make a bet that the first ghost to scare Brave Bear will win the ghost horses of the others. But when they go after Brave Bear to win their bet he keeps making bets with them and winning their horses. This is fairly predictable, since Brave Bear is the hero of the tale. But what is great are all the clever ways that Brave Bear bests each of the ghosts. They are as cool as the illustrations of the ghosts, which is why this Sioux story has become one of my favorites. Plus, there is a punch line at the end that will appeal to young readers as well.

The back of the book talks about the Sioux, which is problematic because ever since "Dances With Wolves" most of us have learned that these people called themselves the Lakota (or Dakota or Nakota), and that the word "Sioux" is the Ojibwa word for "snake." That is covered in the back of this book, but then the book continues to use the derogatory term, but without justifying why (if kids can learn to call a brontosaurus an apatosaurus, they can learn to call the Sioux the Lakota). Is the point here that racism is okay if one Native American tribe hangs a derogatory name on another as opposed to having it done by the settlers? This book is going to be the first opportunity for many young readers to find out about this particular society, so this really should have been a Lakota (or Dakota or Nakota) legend.

The back of the book covers the homeland, food and clothing, and where the people called in this book the Sioux live today. Young readers will also find a Glossary of terms from "akicita" to "travios," and a list of important dates that begins with the 1700s when these people became expert horsemen and 1979 when the U.S. Supreme Court awarded them $105 million for the taking of their lands, which settled a legal action begun in 1923. This section is illustrated with historic photographs of these people and contemporary shots of artifacts. If the explanation for the name of the Sioux was not included here I would round down, but hopefully teachers and parents can rectify the decision made here.