North America Books

As a teacher staying home with my toddler, I wanted materials for her that would be fun and educational without her catching on to the fact that she's learning something. This fits the bill...and each page has a little reminder to parents of what their expectations should be, so kids don't get frustrated. I suggest getting a few different books together and just doing a few out of each. Mix it up!

My son is 2. We bought the maze,color,and trace books too.Although he likes them all, the sticker and paste books were by far the easiest for him to use at his age.The quality of the paper is wonderful w/ bright colors and a thickness that holds up to a toddler.We use scotch tape instead of a glue stick when I'm not in the mood for the extra clean up! I homeschool our other child, these books make him feel like he's doing his "school" too. I will definitly continue to buy Kumon books in the future.

We have several of the titles in this 'Lets....' series and they are great books to get started on colouring, sticking, tracing etc. My [...] son and I love to work on them and they are wonderful 'instant gratification' projects for young children. Small pages to work on encourages small people to finish each page and get to the next. I would highly recommend them and then for older kids, the next levels - check the ages on the books. Great activity workbooks.

A fantastic book, wonderful illustrations, and lots of items to search for while learning the alphabet with your child. A book that can be read over and over again, year after year.

Growing up in Canada and in this area where these pictures in the book were painted bring back fond memories of my childhood and reading and discussing this book with my kids gave them a better understanding of how the alphabet can be understood, and that there is alot more to our alphabet than we think. This is a great way to extend their knowledge to be more aware of various types of trees, wildlife, flowers, etc... This book is a masterpiece and should be added to everyone's book collection.

Each page has a beautiful, realistic picture with a sentence of alliterations for the letter. Each picture also has a hidden letter, making the book challenging, informative and fun.

Mountain Lion was a wonderful book to read. I had been looking everywhere for a comprehensive book or video on the Mountian Lion of North America and I feel I have hit the jackpot. This book tells you "everything you ever wanted to know" about the Mountain Lion and more. From it's origins and how it relates to Natives all the way to it's current situation. Chris Bolgiano writes with a sympathetic eye and makes you realize how important preservation is not only for the Mountain lion and other animals but for humans too. She speaks about Mountain Lion sightings in places where logging and building houses have eliminated the big cat from these areas. She feels people still see sightings because of their phycological need for wilderness. She made me think more about preservation and the importance of saving our wilderness. I would recommend this great book for any Cat and Animal lovers out there. It could also be interesting for conservationists and anybody who is active or interested in enviromental issues.

This is Ms Bolgiano's first book. I happened to read her second book, The Appalachian Forest, first. I liked that book so much, I had to try this one. I am glad I did.

Ms Bolgiano is both a thorough and accurate researcher and an excellent writer. The text of Mountain Lion benefits greatly from both these talents. It is clear that the author traveled widely and spent much time and money in gaining a deep and expansive understanding of cougars and their dealings with our species before writing Mountain Lion.

Once she started writing, Ms Bolgiano wove a tale of this most illusive and truly wild of our wildlife species that is fascinating and a real joy to read. I have only a short time each day to read. I repeatedly found myself looking forward to my daily reading time as I read this book. Finally, I sacrificed large sections of a few nights of sleep and devoured and gorged until I came to the final page. Once done, I mourned the fact that it was over.

To anyone who has even a tiny interest in wild creatures and how we interact with them, I recommend Mountain Lions most highly. It is like taking a tour of a large portion of our land and gaining a much deeper understanding of the people and wildlife of each area. Equally beneficial, one comes to a better knowledge of and a deeper respect for our great, wild, American cat. Reading Mountain Lions, An Unnatural History of Pumas and People, is time extremely well spent.

The reader can tell that a great deal of research went into this book. It is also obvious that the author loves and respects her subject. If a myth about this animal needs to be broken she does so- but graciously. It was especially hard to read about the state of the Florida panther and how they are now so inbred it really is better to bring in the Texas animals to breed. Most of all it is Bolgiano's writing that carries the book- wave after wave of clear, precise prose.

"Muskrat Will Be Swimming" is the inspiring story of a native American girl who, with the gentle guidance of her grandfather, learns to find strength in her identity as a native American living in the broader American society. Elegantly illustrated by Robert Hynes, "Muskrat Will Be Swimming" also includes the Seneca creation story and demonstrates how such ancient tales of native American cultures can be utilized to help children find their way in the world. Author Cheryl Savageau has written a superb story that will entertain and inspire young readers in grades 3 through 6. Enhanced with a 'Teachers Take Note' section devoted to suggestions for activities and thematically appropriate resources, "Muskrat Will Be Swimming" is an award winning and very strongly recommended addition to elementary school and community library picturebook collections.

I am the author of Muskrat Will Be Swimming. Thank you to everyone who's contacted me about getting a copy. MUSKRAT will be republished by Tilbury Books in Spring, 2006, in paperback. Look for it!

I love this book and so does my six year old son. Very sensitively deals with namecalling. The young girl's grandfather sees that she is upset and by telling her a native amercian tale helps her find pride in her heritage and herself. Weaves together the present day story of the girl with the folktale very well.

"Muskrat Will Be Swimming" is the inspiring story of a native American girl who, with the gentle guidance of her grandfather, learns to find strength in her identity as a native American living in the broader American society. Elegantly illustrated by Robert Hynes, "Muskrat Will Be Swimming" also includes the Seneca creation story and demonstrates how such ancient tales of native American cultures can be utilized to help children find their way in the world. Author Cheryl Savageau has written a superb story that will entertain and inspire young readers in grades 3 through 6. Enhanced with a 'Teachers Take Note' section devoted to suggestions for activities and thematically appropriate resources, "Muskrat Will Be Swimming" is an award winning and very strongly recommended addition to elementary school and community library picturebook collections.

I am the author of Muskrat Will Be Swimming. Thank you to everyone who's contacted me about getting a copy. MUSKRAT will be republished by Tilbury Books in Spring, 2006, in paperback. Look for it!

I love this book and so does my six year old son. Very sensitively deals with namecalling. The young girl's grandfather sees that she is upset and by telling her a native amercian tale helps her find pride in her heritage and herself. Weaves together the present day story of the girl with the folktale very well.

I've had the pleasure of being taught by John Boatman at the University level... he is very knowledgeable and passionate about his subject. If you only read one book on this topic, this should be it.

The book is a quick read. It is written in plain language, but filled with forceful words. If all could read it- it would help make sense of alternative philosophies other than those of our European ancestors.

In this book, Boatman tells us the stories, myths and legends of Western Great Lakes Native Americans. It is an insightful book of stories rendered directly from tribal elders. Boatman explains the reverance of all life held dear by Native Americans. He also explains the inconsistancies normally beheld in books on the subject written by outsiders and Europeans. This book is thought provoking and enlightening. We can all learn from these teachings, weather we are Native American or not. This is a universal book, filled with timeless lessons

Is it the trees or the art? This book is just really beautiful.... they have all of my favorites, too, like persimmon and aspen ;-) Buy this for your kid and they'll become a tree major like me hehehe

My Favorite Tree by Diane Iverson features specific gifts trees have for children. It inspires me to write a family book on how trees have had special meaning for me in my life. However, her illustrations and discriptions would be difficult to match. As it includes trees from many areas of the country I would think all children and adults could identify with this beautiful book -- which by the way includes detailed facts also.

It has interesting facts about historic uses; native American, colonial settlers and pioneers of the westward movement. Also covers the many ways trees are vital to wildlife. My kids liked the maps of the trees native habitats. The detailed art work gave a good representation of the trees.

Very nice little handbook, easy to take with when camping or traveling, even to use in the backyard when you spot a different butterfly. Great colors and descriptions!

For a book with the "footprint" of a postcard, this guide has a boatload of useful information and truly superb photos. The descriptions are brief but highlight a few interesting facts about each species; all contain basic entries about identification, habitat, range, and life cycles. Each entry is accompanied by a gorgeous full color photo of the butterfly viewed from above and a smaller side view (the latter are so small that their usefulness is somewhat compromised, but they're better than nothing). No photos of the caterpillars.

The size makes it very convenient for use while observing. Species pictures on the left hand pages in the upper left corner are most useful when the pages are fanned for quick identification. Information on that particular member of the species is excellent.

This book was an invaluable source of information for my research on tribal sovereignty. Wildenthal focuses on 5 topics: The Cherokee Cases, Indian Treaty Rights, Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction, Tribal Civil Jurisdiction, and Tribal Gambling. Each topic has an introduction section, a historical background section, and a description of the cases and the many issues.

Each topic is also subdivided into its seminal Supreme Court cases such as Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, Oliphant v. Sququamish, and Worcester v. Georgia. The second part of the book compiles various documents that deal with the majority of these cases; two treaties, one gaming compact, and 13 opinions.

There is also a chronology, a glossary of people, laws, and concepts, and a table of cases and statutes. Throughout the book are sections on "reccommended reading" and an extensive annotated bibliography that provide new ideas and books for further research.

Wildenthal writes in an engaging manner, asking questions and raising issues. The style of the book encourages learning; he gives background, then describes the case, then tells you to read the opinion or relevant document, and then discusses the issues.

This is an awesome book!

The latest in the "On Trial" series from ABC-CLIO, Native American Sovereignty On Trial examines the history of court litigation and important legal controversies involving Native American treaty rights, especially concerning the historical background and modern-day implications of Native American sovereignty. Painstakingly compiled by Bryan H. Wildenthal (Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California), Native American Sovereignty On Trial presents primary source documents such as court decisions and rulings, as well as an A-Z list of crucial individuals, laws, and ideas, a chronology. All this and more fill the pages of this informed and informative casebook which is especially commended for inclusion with Native American Studies reading lists and American Jurisprudence Studies reference collections.

This first book by Brian H. Wildenthal instantly positions him as a law-thinker who has disturbing new perspectives to offer about how law drives American history. The subject of how callously and exploitively U.S. law -- and often the Supreme Court as well -- has treated our native American peoples is a long-neglected one. So is the subject of how vastly different from that of blacks and other racial groups is the legal treatment of our U.S. tribes, because they started off dealing with the U.S. government as sovereign nations. U.S. law has often had the effect of attempted genocide on the tribes, not only in the past but right up to today, whether it's the festering old treaty issues or the continuing policy of removing Indian children from tribal homes and putting them up for adoption with non-Indian families. Technically a textbook, "Native American Sovereignty on Trial" is highly readable and accessible to the layperson. It gives a vivid picture of the long sad history of issues and court decisions -- from the Cherokee removals and the broken treaties of old, to controversies around criminal jurisdiction and tribal gaming today. As an American of mixed-blood descent, with relatives who are enrolled tribal members, I felt my blood boil as I read this book, and hope "Native American Sovereignty" gets the wide visibility that it deserves. Wildenthal has been teaching at the Thomas Jefferson College of Law in San Diego for years, with a major focus on this subject. I look forward to Wildenthal's next book.

As a traditional Native, I rarely read anything like this. I wouldn't have even ordered it, except the author is a modern Native striving towards his own roots. I thought that I would be offended, but was pleasently suprised.

The sweat lodge is a very sacred place and this book does a great job of illustrating that. From the history to the legends it is fascinating and well rounded. Many traditions are represented in the stories and I really enjoyed reading them as seeing both the differences as well as the commonality. Highly recommended reading especially for anyone interested in participating in a sweat lodge. Respect and Reverence.

If you don't even know what a sweat-lodge is you might not get what you are looking for reading this book. However, for those who would like to learn more about Native American spiritual practices, it's a rich supply of knowledge. The book sets forth the history of the Sweat-lodge in many cultures, and also tells some great ancient tales of the lodge--great for telling in the lodge, or around the fire.