Product Description

A beautiful woman appeared to the Lakota people at a time of great change and suffering. She gave them the pipe that has been part of their culture ever since, saying Wakan Tanka, the great spirit...smoke, and you will know he hears you. She is called the White Buffalo Woman because after giving the people this gift, she changed into a buffalo, reminding her tribespeople of their ties to nature.

In stirring prose and some of his most breathtaking images, widely celebrated author and illustrator Paul Goble brings this important legend to life. Goble includes an introductory note, detailed drawings of the peace pipe, and information about Pipestone Quarry, a National Monument central to this story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #782761 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-01
• Released on: 2002-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Booklist
Gr. 4^-8. In this picture book for older readers, Goble uses his characteristic decorative paintings to help retell an important sacred legend of the Lakota people. He describes a great flood, which killed almost all life on the earth, and relates how the nation came to be born again from the union of a woman of the earth and an eagle of the sky. He then explains how the people came upon hard and frightening times and tells of the arrival of the powerful White Buffalo Woman, who gave the Lakota people the Sacred Calf Pipe, a gift of the Great Spirit. The use of boldface headings and the braiding together of several myths interrupt the flow of the text, leaving readers to pick up additional meaning from the illustrations, but Goble fans, young and old, will enjoy the details in the clothing and landscape. The cartoonlike battle scene, with bloody, rolling heads, will certainly attract the attention of some young readers. In addition to notes regarding the significance of the tale, how he determined the style of clothing, and why he utilized specific related myths in his retelling, Goble lists primary and secondary sources. Additional information about Indian pipes is appended, as is a map pinpointing Pipestone Quarry, now a national monument. Karen Morgan

From Kirkus Reviews
Goble (The Return of the Buffaloes, 1996, etc.) prefaces the story of the first pipe, ``the most important of all Lakota sacred legends,'' with a Great Flood legend, then appends an account of the meaning attached to the pipe and its parts, along with a finely detailed drawing of a pipe in his possession. In a time of troubles, a mysterious woman comes walking across the prairie. The first man she meets tries to rape her and is blasted into bones; the second she sends as a messenger, so that the people are ready when she presents to them the Sacred Calf Pipe. After her transformation into a white buffalo calf, the buffalo has one more gift, the red stone that is still an integral element of all traditional pipes. Drawn just above ground level and clad in spectacular ceremonial costume, Goble's stylized figures seem appropriately larger than life, and the Lakota prayers and comments he quotes further enhance the reverent tone. (map, glossary, notes) (Picture book/folklore. 7-11) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Cultural Wonder
This is a fantasic book. I don't know what the other reviewer was thinking. This is a traditional Native American tale, its story dosn't just speak to a select few but to all people not to be greedy, honor the sacred and respect nature. I recommend this book to everyone, the images are beautifully done and respectful to Native culture. This isn't a sugar coated Disney tale, it is a real story of the Souix people. Enjoy!

No personal connection
This book is designed for older readers, because of overall morbid aspect that the book takes. The illistrations are gruesome, and the storyline is not fluid. The story was not relatable without an Indian background.