Where the Buffaloes Begin

What a delightful book! Little Wolf is a boy who is not afraid of anything, and proves it in an exciting adventure against another tribe, using his connection with the buffalo to save his people. This is a strong story of a little kid who, though already brave, is able to put his bravery to use through the course of the story. He's a perfect role model for kids. This is a great tribute to Native Americans. The illustrations are, though black and white, incredible and add so much Native American spirit to the story.

I was expecting this to be a children's book but it isn't so much for a young child. Set up as a simple chapter book, the tale is, in fact, complex and drives the action forward through the use of amazing drawings by Stephen Gammell. In the early morning mist, a young boy is drawn to a lake from where, as he has heard from the elders in his tribe, the buffaloes are supposed to come. He indeed sees them rising from the mist and is inspired to cry out to them. They are entranced by him and suddenly move forward, all in a mass; he struggles to leap on his pony and run ahead of their advance but they thunder down upon him until he is running in the midst of their herd. A band of rival Indians, having been about to attack his people, cannot escape the massive buffaloes and so the tale becomes one of legend and the boy is always remembered for saving his people. It's an amazing story and I cannot wait to share it with my children as they learn about the Plains and the Plains Indians.

Originally published in 1915, this story retells a Blackfoot Indian tale. Curious about Nawa, the wise man's story about the origins of the sacred buffaloes from the center of a lake, fearless young Little Wolf sneaks away in the middle of the night to keep watch over the lake. The text conveys visceral, sensory experiences: "Little Wolf felt the blood run along his body. He clutched at the prairie grass, crushing it in his hot hands." The story unfolds slowly with a few wordless spreads scattered throughout. The story is divided into sections adorned with illustrations of artifacts, such as moccasins, hats, and weapons. The action of the story is conveyed in soft and misty pencil sketches, capturing the dreamlike mood of the story. According to the author bio, Baker is an English author who spent "a great deal of time" with the Blackfoot Indians. The style of the illustrations is reminiscent of anthropological or archaeological drawings. A note at the conclusion of the story offering contextual details about the Blackfoot and the artifacts presented in the story would be a welcome addition, as well as acknowledgement of the fact that this is no longer the way of life for Native Americans.

My husband and I love this book -- fortunately our son (age 4 yrs) is finally able to listen to the whole story. He has shown great interest in the story and how it relates to his obsession with the transcon railway. (We call our son Train Brain).He has been moved to draw after we have shared the book and we think that is wonderful, since it doesn't involve trains. Seriously, it is a wonderful story and very well illustrated. We will probably donate this book to our son's classroom library later this year. We are grateful to have recieved it as gift from the artist in our family.

This book for children is about a young plains Indian boy who hears a folk tale about how buffaloes are formed at the bottom of a lake far to the south of the boy's village. He goes in search of the lake and, in so doing, saves his village from an attack by an enemy tribe. The book was illustrated by Stephen Gammell and it was a 1982 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustration in a book for children. Any child will love to have the story read to them.