Buffalo Hunt [Paperback]

Russell Freedman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

More than 30 paintings and drawings by artist-adventurers who traveled West in the 1800s illustrate Freedman's vivid account of the Great Plains Indians' buffalo hunts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Freedman punctuates his discussion of the importance of buffalo to the Great Plains Indians with artwork from museums around the country. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up Freedman's book has two levels of appeal: that of the wonderfully conceived and vividly executed paintings (full-color reproductions of stunning paintings by such they-were-there artists as George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, Albert Bierstadt, uncluttered by inclusion of photographic every-detail), and that of an informative, accessible text. The title may by itself mislead some, as Freedman presents not a story or description of one hunt but descriptions of the many ways that buffalo hunts were madeby Indians, and later by the whites whose ferocious, firearm slaughter of the ``shaggies''as they were calledbrought the species to near extinction. This is superior to two recent picture books on the general subject of buffalo: Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's Buffalo: the American Rison Today (Clarion, 1986) and Cary B. Ziter 's The Moon of Falling Leaves (Watts, 1988). A thundering success. George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 53 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823411591
• ISBN-13: 978-0823411597
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Russell Freedman received the Newbery Medal for LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. He is also the recipient of three Newbery Honors, a National Humanities Medal, the Sibert Medal, the Orbis Pictus Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and was selected to give the 2006 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Mr. Freedman lives in New York City and travels widely to research his books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buffalo Hunt by R. Freeman: A review, May 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Buffalo Hunt (Hardcover)

Author, Russell Freeman, writes an informational (nonfiction) book targeting grades 3 - 7 about the interdependence of the Plains Indian Tribes and the North American Bison. This book documents a way of life few non-Indian people were privileged to see. The bison shaped the culture of these tribes, the tribes usually killed only what they needed and used all parts of the animal. The various tribes of the plains husbanded the bison herds and the land on which they grazed to insure the survival of this essential source of food and shelter. The buffalo hunt was accompanied by supplication to the spirits and shaman of the tribes and was participated in by all, though only men killed buffalo. The job of others was to clean the kill and cure the meat and hides. The author describes more than one hunting technique. Also, he explains how the Indians developed into skillful horsemen as they evolved from hunting on foot to the use of wild horses.

The slaughter of bison populations as whites encroached upon and gradually took over Indian lands resulted in the end of a way of life and the near annihilation of the Plains Indian Tribes in the 50+ years from around 1830 to 1888.

The book is illustrated with reproductions of original paintings and drawings of the period by artists such as George Catlin and Karl Bodmer who were adventurer-artists traveling alone, or nearly so, through regions that only a few fur trappers and traders had seen before this time.

Freeman has crafted a book with a balanced combination of illustration and information. His book would surpass the most rigorous standards for great nonfiction. It presents information objectively and without bias or opinion and uses beautiful works of art for illustration - the art of both the white and the Indian, from the period under scrutiny. It explains a way of life that has been lost yet does not belabor the point, marginalize the people, or sentimentalize the topic. I would recommend this book highly. It could be used for art projects in schools as well as for factual writing assignments. The author has written other respected informational books for children, e.g., Lincoln: A photobiography, and another about the Wright brothers.