(1) YA "Those you are about to meet are real people, not stereotypes. They are women and men who truly were, through their words and their deeds, voices of the people." Bruchac’s (Abenaki) biographical poems provide chronological introductions to thirty-four notable Native Americans, from the Peacemaker, a Wendat (Huron) leader who united five warring nations around 1000 C.E., to twentieth-century activist Wilma Mankiller, who was the Cherokee Nation's first woman head chief. What stand out most, however, are the accompanying reproductions of artwork by different contemporary Native artists working in a variety of media. Bruchac explains his selection process: some artists were paired with biographical subjects from the same tribe; other artists' work "connects to the subject of the biography in an important way." An appended "More about the Voices" section provides short ­paragraphs of information about the people highlighted, and Bruchac includes a poem about his own life. Intended, per the author's note, to educate non-Native readers and to further inspire Native ones, this ambitious undertaking should encourage all people to learn more about the biographical subjects and to seek out work by the featured artists.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) 4-6 In this verse novel, Malian, a Penacook girl, is visiting her grandparents on the Penacook reservation when shelter-in-place orders are given due to COVID-19. Malian misses her parents and friends, but she spends time with a dog that has mysteriously appeared, and she enjoys listening to her grandparents' retellings of ­traditional stories. They also tell her about some of the more difficult parts of their history that have affected their nation, such as boarding schools and forced sterilizations, all touched on by Bruchac (Peacemaker, rev. 7/21) in an accessible and age-appropriate way. Ultimately, Malian's grandparents remind her that their people have survived ­pandemics before, through caring for one another. Young readers will be able to understand ­Malian's ­situation, including technological struggles in connecting to her remote ­classroom. The book's ending--in which Malian waits eagerly but with mixed ­emotions for her parents to pick her up--raises relatable questions of home, friendship, and belonging.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) 4-6 "There's no story more important to the People of the Longhouse, the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Nations than that of the Peacemaker." The Peacemaker story has been told for centuries, and while major features remain the same, individual storytellers can add their own spins. Bruchac relates the tale through the eyes of twelve-year-old Okwaho, whose family broke off from the conflict-riddled "big village," Onondaga. Okwaho and his friend Tawis are out hunting when Tawis is kidnapped by men from a neighboring nation. Consumed with anger and guilt, Okwaho wishes to seek revenge, while the village adults contemplate rejoining Onondaga for safety. Chief Atatarho will allow them to return only if everyone in the village successfully runs the gauntlet--a difficult task. Then a stranger appears with a message from the Peacemaker. Through the eyes of a preteen boy, readers come to understand the losses that resulted from the wars between Native nations. The Peacemaker story affected not only the Iroquois Nation but also the United States itself. In his appended note, Bruchac states that the tale was "admired by such Founding Fathers as Benjamin Franklin [and] held up as one of the models for the United States Constitution and American democracy in general."

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) YA Ely ("pronounced, he always said, to rhyme with freely") Samuel Parker was "a man who more than any other walked with honor in two worlds." The boy with the Seneca name Ha-sa-no-an-da was born on the Buffalo Creek Reservation in Upstate New York in 1828, attended "English" schools, and would come to occupy "a unique and special place in American history." When Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865, it was Brevet Brigadier General Parker, then Ulysses S. Grant's personal secretary, who wrote the official terms of surrender. In a long life of public service, Ely Parker was a major voice of the Iroquois Confederacy, an engineer for the Genesee Valley Canal, a commissioner for Indian Affairs, and a successful Wall Street investor. Bruchac relates Parker's story clearly, honoring the dual context within which Parker lived, and placing his life within the context of his times, including the struggles of Native Americans to preserve their lands, the Civil War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and Reconstruction. Numerous archival photographs, paintings, and a map are used to good effect, and back matter includes a timeline, source notes, bibliography, and notes on the use of Native names throughout the volume.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(1) 4-6 Cal Black enjoys his nomadic life with his WWI-veteran father in Depression-era America. But then his father reveals their Creek heritage and enrolls Cal in an Oklahoma Indian boarding school. Cal, who always believed he was white, confronts this heretofore-unknown part of himself while adjusting to a school designed to "kill the Indian" within him. His first-person narration rings true in this tautly paced, compelling story of family and identity.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes. Young Chester Nez was sent to a missionary boarding school that taught English, but he ignored his teachers by retaining his native Navajo language and culture. As a soldier in World War II, Chester became one of the original Navajo code talkers, helping to defeat the Japanese. Muted illustrations enhance the informative biography. A portion of the Navajo code is appended. Timeline.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) 4-6 Unicorn Rescue Society series. Illustrated by Hatem Aly. Created by Jesse Casey, Adam Gidwitz, and Chris Smith. This collaboratively created series--told through the two newest members of a worldwide society of misfits dedicated to saving mythical creatures--is witty, fast-paced, hilarious, and great fun. Starring upper-elementary-age New Jersey kids Elliot and Uchenna, each book focuses on a different creature in need of protection. Abundant black-and-white drawings spotlight the zany characters and add to the laughs. Review covers these Unicorn Rescue Society titles: The Basque Dragon, The Creature of the Pines, and Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(2) YA Killer of Enemies series. In the post-apocalyptic trilogy's enthralling final volume, the powers Lozen inherited from her Chiricahua ancestors show her that an assassin is on her trail and that the remaining rulers of Haven plan to destroy her settlement. As before, Lozen's decisions are informed by stories from her Native heritage; appearances by Coyote himself and other supernatural actors keep the boundary between sci-fi and folklore porous.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(2) 4-6 In the nineteenth-century Tsalagi nation, thirteen-year-old Uwohali's father, Sequoyah, moved out, subsequently remarrying, fathering a daughter, and working on his Cherokee syllabary. When Sequoyah returns to the village, Uwohali sees a father he would like to know. The universality of looking for acceptance from a once-absent father feels strikingly contemporary; incorporation of Tsalagi legends adds authenticity to this fine novel. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2016

(2) YA Killer of Enemies series. Lozen (Killer of Enemies) leads refugees through the desert toward Valley Where First Light Paints the Cliffs. They face many dangers, and Lozen is afflicted with something her Apache-Chiricahua ancestors called Enemy Sickness, or post-traumatic stress. The sardonic protagonist is as magnetic, the peril as intense, and the invention as fresh as ever as Bruchac develops his dystopian world in intriguing directions.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(2) YA A deadly assassin with extrasensory powers, Lozen (named for an Apache-Chiricahua warrior-woman forebear) takes out genetically modified superbeasts; her family is being held hostage to ensure her continued service. Bruchac devises ever-more-dangerous battles for his protagonist in the increasingly suspenseful story. What really makes the narrative vibrate is Lozen's sardonic voice, capturing both gallows humor and a very human vulnerability.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2014

(2) PS Illustrated by Jeff Newman. The Bruchacs retell a pourquoi tale that the elder included in two previous collections (Iroquois Stories and The Boy Who Lived with the Bears). This version differs significantly--unfortunately, there's no source note. Shorter sentences and more patterning and repetition make this a good preschool read-aloud. The watercolor, gouache, and ink illustrations' classic mid-twentieth-century style echoes Simont, Hurd, and Weisgard.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(2) 4-6 Rashko, son of a goodhearted but dim king and queen, finds responsibility heavy on his shoulders when his parents are enchanted away to the Silver Lands. Alternating chapters tell the story of Rashko's ancestor Pavol, who defeated a dragon and initiated peace. Gypsy proverbs and frequent interjections add a Slovak flavor to the mountain setting, while humor enlivens the tone.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2011

(3) YA His father's sudden and mysterious abduction confirms Lucas King's lifelong suspicions about Dad's career in covert operations. With the help of new vampiric friends and the discovery of his own lycanthropic abilities, Lucas dives into the headquarters of an ominous local corporation. Lucas's witty and informative voice is entertaining, and the book offers unique portrayals of werewolves and vampires.

Reviewer: Randy Ribay

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Wendy Halperin. In lumbering rhymes ("Pop shows me how to ride a bike. / I'm too grown-up now for a trike"), Bruchac describes the many pleasures that boys and their fathers can share: raking leaves, walking into town, laughing together. Each spread features multi-paneled, soft-hued illustrations that help narrate the stories of thirteen diverse father-and-son pairs.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. A devious TV host and his cronies kidnap Paul and his grandfather. They want to use Grampa Peter's knowledge of Abenaki lore to lead them to Pmola, the legendary (and dangerous) winged creature of the White Mountains. With a sure hand, Bruchac layers fast-paced adventure with modern Native American culture.

Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. Based on the true story of a Salish Indian, this slightly romanticized telling explains how, in the 1870s, Walking Coyote raised orphaned buffalo calves, helping save the overhunted North American buffalo from possible extinction. Dramatic oil-paint illustrations capture the expanse of the western landscape. An afterword provides more information about Walking Coyote and about further efforts to protect buffalo.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) YA Teenager Louis Nolette, an Abenaki Indian from Canada, joins the Union Army. His brigade, the Fighting Sixty-ninth (the "Irish Brigade"), participates in some of the most desperate and bloodiest battles of the war. Rich detail coupled with a unique personal perspective (Louis is based on Bruchac's great-grandfather) result in a fascinating look at the final years of the Civil War.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(4) 4-6 Folktales of the World series. Illustrated by Stefano Vitale. This collection is divided into major culture zones. A prefatory note describes the people and ways of life of each area. Three or four tales follow, with brief introductions; some of the stories' plots are heavily Europeanized. The book is illustrated with fanciful adaptations of Native American styles and motifs, deftly done (if hardly genuine). Source notes.

Reviewer: Barbara Bader | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(4) YA Troubled by bullies at school, Cody gets some help when a hitherto undisclosed uncle comes to town and starts giving him lessons in "The Way," a rather ponderous program of martial arts training and Native American wisdom. Although the story is diffuse and predictable, it has a lot of boy-friendly elements and, in Cody, a likable portrait of a contemporary Indian kid.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton