This book is composed of a collection of poems by Tewa Native American children who live in New Mexico. This collection, however, is not several isolated poems, but rather one long poem written by different children. This reflects the collectivist culture of the people as well. The poems cover many different aspects of Tewa life. It talks about agriculture, family and friends, livestock, wild animals, and more. My favorite part is the beginning where the narrator is talking about what his or her mother does and how the narrator relates to the mother. The poem describes the mother as hardworking and loving. I also love how the end of the book is a circular ending because it finishes with the idea that all creatures and ideas in the poem come together to create "a strong chain" that ties the narrator to his or her cultural roots that begin "in my mother's house" (56).
This book would be fantastic to use when studying Native American culture and would be most appropriate for first through fifth. It spans so many grade levels because the language is simple but the ideas are ageless. Ideas such as family, friends, community, and livelihood are relatable to many ages. When studying the history of Native Americans, this book would be fantastic to use since it is told from a child's perspective in first-person voice. this makes the Tewa people come alive to the reader. Even though this is not a historical book, students can compare and contrast the way of life of the Tewa people in this book to the way of life of the historical Native Americans. Additionally, when students learn about different roles in communities and different types of communities, this book would be a fantastic resource to allow students to experience a community that may be very different from theirs. Students could also compare concepts that are similar to their own community. By doing this, students will hopefully see that even though these communities are very different, they also have unshakeable similarities.
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