When the Shadbush Blooms [Hardcover]

Carla Messinger (Author), Susan Katz (Author), David Kanietakeron Fadden (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

My grandparents’ grandparents walked beside the same stream where I walk with my brother, and we can see what they saw.

Today when a Lenape Indian girl ventures to the stream to fish for shad, she knows that another girl did the same generations before. Through the cycle of the seasons, what is important has remained: being with family, knowing when berries are ripe for picking, listening to stories in a warm home.

Told by Traditional Sister and Contemporary Sister, each from her own time, this is a book about tradition and about change. Then and now are not so very different when the shadbush blooms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The book captures so much that is Native: cycles, the particular roles and joys of people of different ages, plants and animals as integral parts of life, the richness of lives lived simply, and our connection to the past, and thus to the future. The language is crystalline, pure and sparkling, nothing wasted; nothing more needed.” --Karen Coody Cooper (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Museum Training Coordinator, National Museum of the American Indian

“Both text and pictures invite you in, not as a stranger viewing a different culture, but a welcome guest. ...It does not imbed a Native nation in the distant past. Instead, we see both then and now side by side, deeply connected, flowing into each other.” --Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki storyteller and writer

“Over and against the plethora of ‘multicultural’ writing for young children, this is the one I would choose to show them our pre-conquest lives: the balance of life, the belonging to the land and to each other, and how, for the fortunate among us, it still is that way. The traditions live, we adapt; what sustained us then, sustains now.” --Doris Seale (Dakota, Cree, and Abenaki), poet, and editor/author of Through Indian Eyes and A Broken Flute

From the Publisher

Includes afterword about the culture and history of the Lenni Lenape (formerly known as the Delaware Indians).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tricycle Press (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582461929
• ISBN-13: 978-1582461922
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 0.4 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserving of the Caldecott, September 14, 2007

By 

Susan G. Beck (South Range, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: When the Shadbush Blooms (Hardcover)

While the beautiful illustrations may first attract you to Where the Shadbush Blooms, the words that describe the feeling of joy that children take in their families now, and took long ago--and the simple pleasures that hold families together--will hold you and any child. Kids will be fascinated by the historical differences in clothing and tools, and interested in similarities over time. They will ask you to read and reread the story, and they will love trying to pronounce the Lenni Lenape words for the seasons and the moons. (The authors wisely included a pronunciation dictionary along with the background of the tribe.) The book holds potential for family conversation, games, and challenges--not to mention those in a classroom. While it describes the Original People, it applies to all people and to the strength of families everywhere. It deserves to win the Caldecott. Susan Gilbert Beck, former Children's Librarian, Librarian and Information Specialist, Certified Teacher, Emanda, Inc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very sweet story, October 11, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Shadbush Blooms (Hardcover)

Every culture has its own ways of celebrating the seasons. When the Shadbush Blooms shows young readers how the Lenape Indians (also known as the Delaware Indians) live according to the seasons.

The story is uniquely told from two different viewpoints. It is told by Traditional Sister and Contemporary Sister, each from her own time. These viewpoints show us how the traditions have changed, yet stay very similar. David Kanietakeron Fadden`s paintings grasp life in traditional times and current times extraordinarily. His paintings draw the reader in, and make them feel as if they were there as well.

The young reader that I shared this book with had a great time comparing the similarities between the different times. She seemed to enjoy learning about the traditions of the Lenape and following the adventures of the girls telling the story through their year.

I found this an engaging look into the lifestyles of one of the native tribes of the United States. I enjoyed the way the book was presented, and found the additional information on the Lenape in the back of the book extremely informative. This is a wonderful example of multicultural writing that shows how people live close to the land and themselves during the changing seasons.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely illustrations, November 22, 2007

By 

WebDeavah "WebDeavah" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When the Shadbush Blooms (Hardcover)

I purchased this book specifically because of the Lenape Indian connection and a unit being taught in my second grade class. It also didn't hurt that my own family is from the Lenape Delaware tribe. The book had lovely illustrations and simple text. The use of Lenape vocabulary added a great touch and my students and I loved that there was a pronunciation guide in the back of the book. A definite asset to any library, especially if you are celebrating Native American Hertigage.