Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux (Trophy Picture Books) (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Illustrator) "When the snows of winter disappear my father cuts a moon-counting stick that he keeps in our tipi..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. The 13 moons of the Sioux year are marked by notches on a "moonstick," by descriptive names ("Moon of the Thunderstorms," "Cherry-Ripening Moon"), and here by Bunting's poetic evocations of the seasons. The narrator is an unnamed boy, for whom the moons mark the time that must pass before he can hunt, dance, and wear snowshoes like his father and older brothers. Although the father observes philosophically that "life cannot be without sadness," for buffalo or for Sioux, pictures and text depict an idyllic wilderness existence, sans war, famine, or disease. In a style reminiscent of Impressionism, a muted, earth-tone palette, and varied viewpoints, Sandford shows his subjects' lives and activities. Travois, tipi, and parfleche (no words are defined) appear; dress and decoration are carefully delineated as the speaker celebrates the activities and ideas proper to each month. The two final spreads are unexpected. "Many winters have passed," notes the speaker, who is now old: he lives in town and does not hunt. The pictures show farms, roads, telephone lines, and tractors?within the man's lifetime, an utter revolution. So mind-stretching is the sudden change that it may strike only adult readers. No matter, this is a lovely, elegiac book, a romantic paean to a vanished existence.?Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Bunting (The Pumpkin Fair, p. 947, etc.) turns a sensitive eye to Sioux culture, depicting it truthfully and realistically while incorporating into the book a heartening message to any child whose ancestral ways have passed (even temporarily) into obscurity. The father of the first-person narrator notches a moon-counting stick at the beginning of each of the 13 moons of the Sioux year, a way to mark the passing of the year. Sandford's appealing, unsentimental illustrations link the notches to the passing seasons, from the Moon of the Birth of Calves, through the Cherry-Ripening Moon when the men take part in the Sun Dance, and the Sore-Eyes Moon when snow so dazzles the narrator that his father reassures him that ``changes come and will come again. It is so arranged.'' Soon it is time for a new moonstick, but, in a brief page, readers understand that many moonsticks have come and gone: The child is grown, his culture passed away, and the narrator's livelihood comes from the sale of his wife's beadwork and his own headdresses--``We do not hunt.'' That's the poignant clincher, so it's a relief that the narrator takes his small grandson to cut a stick, to pass on his father's wisdom, to note that changes will come again. Expertly and beautifully told. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (February 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064436195
• ISBN-13: 978-0064436199
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Seasons of the Sioux, May 25, 2000

By	Sandra Cortez (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux (Hardcover)

The book begins with a young Dakota Indian boy being told of the changes that occur in nature and in life by his father and ends with him continuing the "moon-stick" tradition he was taught despite it being a different time. Changes in nature and in the lives of the Sioux come with each new moon of the Sioux year. A "moon-counting stick" is used to keep track of each moon and is replaced every Spring, which is when the Sioux year begins. The illustrations in this book capture the changes of the seasons through color, from the brighter, fresher colors of spring to the warmer, deeper colors of autumn. Each season and corresponding Sioux activity is described poetically in an attempt to convey the spirit and feeling of the season and the people as they read nature's signs. I loved the use of color and poetry to capture the mood of each season and the mood of the Sioux, summertime sewing circles with strawberries to color leather leggings and the white of snow as "blinding" with the "biting" cold. I hesitate to give it 5 stars only because the phrase "the Great Spirit" is used, insinuating the Sioux believed in one great governing spirit when in fact, many spirits were acknowledged, each playing a role and in conjunction with each other. I did enjoy the universal lessons mentioned in the text, such as the need to recognize the presence of cycles in nature and life and to accept change as a part of life. An excellent book for introducing children to the seasons in general and specifically the Sioux view of the seasons. Also good for introducing the concepts of change and cycles.