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THE HEART OF A CHIEF

Joseph Bruchac, Author . Puffin $5.99 (153p) ISBN 978-0-14-131236-1

"Bruchac explores what it means to be Native American in a modern society through the perceptive first-person narrative of 11-year-old Chris Nicola," said PW. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)

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Reviewed on: 07/30/2001

Release date: 08/01/2001

Genre: Children's

Paperback - 153 pages - 9780141312361

Hardcover - 192 pages - 9780786244539

Hardcover - 160 pages - 9780803722767

Prebound-Glued - 153 pages - 9780756978051

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  • Bowman's Store: A Journey to Myself
    Bowman's Store: A Journey to Myself
    Joseph Bruchac
    In this poignant memoir, author and storyteller Bruchac (Eagle Song) lays bare the often painful circumstances of his youth and describes the gradual embracing of his Native American heritage. Continue reading »
  • How Chipmunk Got His Stripes
    How Chipmunk Got His Stripes
    Joseph Bruchac, James Bruchac
    In Bruchac and his son's (When the Chenoo Howls) serviceable retelling of a Native American pourquoi tale, Brown Squirrel challenges prideful Bear to keep the sun from rising. When the sun does rise, Continue reading »
  • SKELETON MAN
    SKELETON MAN
    Joseph Bruchac
    Drawing on traditions of Native American stories, Bruchac writes of a girl whose parents mysteriously disappear and a "great-uncle" who shows up to claim her, with "spine-tingling Continue reading »
  • Jim Thorpe: Original All-American
    Jim Thorpe: Original All-American
    Joseph Bruchac
    Drawing on meticulous research, Bruchac (Wabi ) presents Jim Thorpe's (1887–1953) complex story, focusing on his years at Haskell and Carlisle Indian Continue reading »
  • Children of the Longhouse
    Children of the Longhouse
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    Told from the alternating points of view of Native American Ohkwa'ri and his twin sister Otsi:stia, this historic novel shows a Mohawk village during the best of times: after the Great League of Continue reading »
  • Turtle's Race with Beaver
    Turtle's Race with Beaver
    Joseph Bruchac, James Bruchac
    Following up on their How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, father-son team Joseph and James Bruchac and artists Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey present the tale of how Turtle outsmarts Beaver, who refuses Continue reading »
  • Turtle Meat and Other Stories
    Turtle Meat and Other Stories
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac ( Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back ) is perhaps the best - known contemporary Native American storyteller. This slim, highly entertaining volume of 17 original stories touches upon a wide Continue reading »
  • The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
    The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac ( Keepers of the Earth ; Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back ) once again brings simplicity and lyricism to his interpretation of Native American legend. The Cherokee tale told here explains the Continue reading »
  • Love & Profanity: A Collection of True, Tortured, Wild, Hilarious, Concise, and Intense Tales of Teenage Lif
    Love & Profanity: A Collection of True, Tortured, Wild, Hilarious, Concise, and Intense Tales of Teenage Lif
    Rachael Hanel (et al.)
    More than 40 brief true stories from Pete Hautman, Alison McGhee, Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka and others address a vast range of experiences and emotions that will be painfully familiar to teens or anyone Continue reading »
  • The Hunter S Promise: An Abenaki Tale
    The Hunter S Promise: An Abenaki Tale
    Joseph Bruchac
    In a retelling of a story shared by several Northeast indigenous peoples, as Bruchac explains in an introductory note, a lonely Abenaki hunter gains a mysterious “winter wife” who cares for him Continue reading »
  • Raccoon's Last Race
    Raccoon's Last Race
    Joseph Bruchac
    Father and son writing team Joseph and James Bruchac return with their third folktale, Raccoon's Last Race, illus. by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Here, long-limbed, speedy raccoon taunts his rivals Continue reading »
  • NAVAJO LONG WALK: The Tragic Story of a Proud People's Forced March from Their Homeland
    NAVAJO LONG WALK: The Tragic Story of a Proud People's Forced March from Their Homeland
    Joseph Bruchac
    "We were given two ears so that we may hear both sides of every story," notes Bruchac at the start of this detailed, sobering account of the Navajo people's forced relocation—on Continue reading »
  • Jim Thorpe's Bright Path
    Jim Thorpe's Bright Path
    Joseph Bruchac
    New titles give informed views of talented Native American figures. Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac, illus. by S.D. Nelson, is a historical picture-book portrayal of the legendary Continue reading »
  • Peacemaker
    Peacemaker
    Joseph Bruchac
    Through 12-year-old Okwaho, who loves to make songs, Bruchac (One Real American) brings a fresh point of view to this briskly told fictionalization of the Iroquois Confederacy’s beginnings. Continue reading »
  • POCAHONTAS
    POCAHONTAS
    Joseph Bruchac
    Repeating the narrative structure he used to great success in Sacajawea, Bruchac alternates between two stylized voices for this less involving story. The uneven Continue reading »
  • THE WARRIORS
    THE WARRIORS
    Joseph Bruchac
    Opening with fast-paced sketches of a lacrosse game and punctuated by the reverent thoughts of a teenage Iroquois player, Bruchac's (Pocahontas, reviewed Continue reading »
  • The Dark Pond
    The Dark Pond
    Joseph Bruchac
    As he did with Skeleton Man, Joseph Bruchac once again blends haunting elements of traditional Native American folklore with a modern setting and characters in The Dark Pond, illus. by Sally Wern Continue reading »
  • Seasons of the Circle
    Seasons of the Circle
    Joseph Bruchac
    Time-honored traditions come alive in two titles. Joseph Bruchac shares the Seasons of the Circle: A Native American Year, illus. by Robert Goetzl, from January (""Maliseet hunters follow/ the Continue reading »
  • Return of the Sun: Native American Tales from the Northeast Woodlands
    Return of the Sun: Native American Tales from the Northeast Woodlands
    Joseph Bruchac
    More than 25 tales highlight the traditions, customs and beliefs of Native American nations from areas such as those now known as Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, the Great Lakes region and Canada. The Continue reading »
  • THE SKELETON MAN
    THE SKELETON MAN
    Joseph Bruchac
    According to the gutsy sixth grade narrator of Bruchac's (Heart of a Chief; Sacagawea) latest novel, the book draws from Continue reading »
  • My Father Is Taller Than a Tree
    My Father Is Taller Than a Tree
    Joseph Bruchac
    This friendly poem celebrates the role fathers play in their sons' lives and the many kinds of families who live in the U.S. Working in crayon, Halperin draws father-son pairs around the Continue reading »
  • Eagle Song
    Eagle Song
    Joseph Bruchac
    It's a shock for fourth-grader Danny Bigtree to move to Brooklyn from his Mohawk Nation reservation: suddenly he has no friends, and his classmates taunt him, asking him where his war pony is and Continue reading »
  • Our Stories Remember: American Indian History, Culture, & Values Through Storytelling
    Our Stories Remember: American Indian History, Culture, & Values Through Storytelling
    Joseph Bruchac
    Our Stories Remember: American Indian History, Culture and Values Through Storytelling by Joseph Bruchac is a wide-ranging exploration of many aspects of Native American experience, lifestyle and Continue reading »
  • Crazy Horse's Vision
    Crazy Horse's Vision
    Joseph Bruchac, Lee & Low
    As he did in Gift Horse, Sioux artist Nelson blends contemporary and traditional elements for the striking illustrations that accompany this story of the legendary Lakota warrior. Bruchac (A Boy Continue reading »
  • Talking Leaves
    Talking Leaves
    Joseph Bruchac
    The Cherokee villagers of Willstown avoid Uwohali’s father, Sequoyah—despite his artistry and storytelling skills—believing that his fascination with strange symbols indicates witchcraft. Although Continue reading »
  • Walking Two Worlds
    Walking Two Worlds
    Joseph Bruchac
    The true story of Seneca leader Ely Parker (1828–1895) inspires this fast-paced work of historical fiction, which joins the PathFinders line of books, written at a second-grade reading level. Ely, Continue reading »
  • The Powwow Thief (the Powwow Mystery Series Book 1)
    The Powwow Thief (the Powwow Mystery Series Book 1)
    Joseph Bruchac
    This early chapter book with a picture book trim size, the first installment of the Powwow Mystery Series, features twins Jamie and Marie Longbow, who are traveling to powwows this summer with their Continue reading »
  • The Story of the Milky Way: 2a Cherokee Tale
    The Story of the Milky Way: 2a Cherokee Tale
    Joseph Bruchac
    With lyric simplicity this retelling of a Cherokee folktale posits an explanation for the origin of the Milky Way, at the same time stressing the merits of communal labor. When a great spirit dog Continue reading »
  • The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story
    The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story
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    This adaptation of a popular Native American story pits Animals against Birds in a contest to settle an all-too-human question: Who's better? Here, it's the teeth versus the wings in stickball, a Continue reading »
  • Wolf Mark
    Wolf Mark
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac (Dragon Castle) delivers a fun twist on werewolf stories mixed with some mad science and espionage. Luke King’s black ops father spent years teaching him various survival skills, and Luke’s Continue reading »
  • Rez Dogs
    Rez Dogs
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    Bruchac (Peacemaker), who is Abenaki, pens a spare novel-in-verse that richly addresses an array of subjects, including Wabanaki legends and beliefs, residential schools, the Covid-19 Continue reading »
  • Four Ancestors: Stories, Songs, and Poems from Native North America
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    Joseph Bruchac
    Representing more than 20 tribes, these stories, songs and poems of this collecton are in good hands. As usual, Bruchac tells the tales with opacity, allowing each story's inherent beauty and meaning Continue reading »
  • Rabbit's Snow Dance
    Rabbit's Snow Dance
    James Bruchac, Joseph Bruchac
    The father-and-son storytelling team behind Raccoon’s Last Race and Turtle’s Race with Beaver return with their version of a traditional Iroquois tale. While the Bruchacs reach back hundreds of years Continue reading »
  • Dawn Land
    Dawn Land
    Joseph Bruchac
    Adapted from Bruchac's 1993 prose novel, this lengthy fable, set in ancient times and apparently inspired by Abenaki folklore, concerns a young Native American hunter (called Young Hunter) who goes Continue reading »
  • Lasting Echoes: An Oral History of Native American People
    Lasting Echoes: An Oral History of Native American People
    Joseph Bruchac
    Author and poet Bruchac (Breaking Silence) has assembled a plethora of eloquent poems and essays spanning the ""seven generations"" since Europeans arrived. It was at this point that tribal Continue reading »
  • Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places
    Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places
    Joseph Bruchac, Harcourt
    More than a guide to places sacred to Native Americans, this reverent book prompts readers to look within themselves to find the hallowed ground that ""sets our sprits on the right path."" While Continue reading »
  • Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story
    Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac begins this powerful story of Chester Nez (born Betoli) as he is taken by missionaries from the Navajo reservation to boarding school: “Chester knew he might need to live in the white man’s Continue reading »
  • Fox Song
    Fox Song
    Joseph Bruchac
    In this tale of the sweet and vital bond between Native American great-grandparents and children, Bruchac, a well-known storyteller with Abenaki roots, offers a glimpse into traditional ways through Continue reading »
  • The First Strawberries
    The First Strawberries
    Joseph Bruchac, Anna Vojtech
    This legend explains the origins of strawberries, grown by the sun to help the first man and woman patch a quarrel. ""Spare text, an uncomplicated story line and gentle illustrations keep this quiet Continue reading »
  • Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back
    Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back
    Joseph Bruchac
    To many Native Americans, the 13 cycles of the moon represent the changing seasons and the passage of time. Each moon has its own special name that, while varying among the tribal nations, is Continue reading »
  • A Boy Called Slow
    A Boy Called Slow
    Joseph Bruchac
    Like most Lakota Sioux boys, Slow yearns for the special vision or manly deed that will inspire his permanent, adult name. Encouraged by splendid stories of his father's bravery, wisdom and Continue reading »
  • Heart of a Chief: 5
    Heart of a Chief: 5
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac explores what it means to be Native American in a modern society through the perceptive first-person narrative of 11-year-old Chris Nicola. The sixth-grader confronts a plethora of changes: Continue reading »
  • Sacajawea
    Sacajawea
    Joseph Bruchac, Peter Roop, Connie Roop
    Bruchac's (The Arrow Over the Door) intimate novel about Lewis and Clark's epic Western exploration unfolds through the alternating voices of Sacajawea, their Shoshone interpreter, and Clark. Continue reading »
  • HIDDEN ROOTS
    HIDDEN ROOTS
    Joseph Bruchac
    Reprising his signature themes, Bruchac sets up this taut novel to reveal a chilling bit of history: according to an endnote, the Vermont Eugenics Project, signed into law in 1931, enabled the Continue reading »
  • One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General
    One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General
    Joseph Bruchac
    Employing historical photographs and first-person quotes, Bruchac (who is Abenaki) uses straightforward language in this lively biography of Ely S. Parker, an Iroquois engineer and lawyer who served Continue reading »
  • Girl Who Married the Moon - Pbk
    Girl Who Married the Moon - Pbk
    Joseph Bruchac, &. Ross Bruchac, Bruchac &. Ross
    Bruchac and Ross (How Rabbit Tricked Otter) team up for a companion volume to Bruchac's Flying with Eagle, Racing with Great Bear, a collection of Native American tales that focused on boys' rites of Continue reading »
  • Dragon Castle
    Dragon Castle
    Joseph Bruchac
    Drawing upon his Slovakian heritage, Bruchac (Bearwalker) spins a good-natured and humorous fairy tale set in the castle of Hladka Hvokra. The only intellectual in a family known more for kindness Continue reading »
  • The Waters Between
    The Waters Between
    Joseph Bruchac
    The title of this third installment in the Dawn Land trilogy (after Dawn Land and Long River) refers to Lake Champlain, and those waters are decidedly troubled as Native American storyteller Bruchac Continue reading »
  • Flying W/Eagle Racing Great Bear
    Flying W/Eagle Racing Great Bear
    Joseph Bruchac, Bruchac
    In Native American cultures the passage of a boy into manhood is a highly significant event marked by a variety of rituals. ``One powerful way in which the meanings of this transition have been Continue reading »
  • Wabi: A Hero's Tale
    Wabi: A Hero's Tale
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac's (Skeleton Man ) storytelling skills are on full display in this tale introducing an owlet narrator. Wabi's adventure begins almost immediately, Continue reading »
  • Gluskabe and the Four Wishes: 7
    Gluskabe and the Four Wishes: 7
    Joseph Bruchac
    Bruchac (Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back) combines several sources in telling this traditional Native American ``teaching story.'' After making an arduous journey to visit Gluskabe, the Great Continue reading »
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