Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave

This book offers a remarkable sharing, not just of weaving, but of cultural traditions. The reader gains a new understanding and insight of Dine philosophy. It does an exceptional job of conveying a message of mutual love and respect between generations. A good resource for classroom studies of Native Americans and how they live today.

"Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave" is the BEST, most sensitive and comprehensive children's book on the subject. Photographer and writer, Monty Roessel, took a personal approach to creating this book when he chose his daughter and his mother as subjects. He documented his ten year old daughter, Jaclyn, as her grandmother taught her to weave. The fifth grader learned about the practical aspects of weaving; like shearing sheep, carding and spinning wool, natural dyes, and weaving techniques. Nali Ruth (Grandmother) also taught Jaclyn about important Navajo stories related to weaving and the significance of each tool. This book has an informative, well written text and wonderful graphics. It has many photographs and informative diagrams. Small samples of different rug patterns appear in the margins every few pages, leading to a full page map of the regions associated with the patterns. The wooden Navajo loom is shown in a labeled drawing. The traditional stories of how weaving originated for the Navajo people are on separate pages from the rest of the text, bordered by a rug-type design. I would recommend this book for both adults and children over 8 as a delightful way to learn about this subject. He honors his mother, his daughter, and Navajo weaving with this book. If you are buying this book for a child, "Navajo Rugs and Blankets: A Coloring Book" by Chuck and Andrea Mobley, with Sam Mike as illustrator, is a must have supplement. Children interested in "Songs From the Loom" will find themselves inspired to experience Navajo rugs and this coloring book is a great way to extend the story!