Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Buffalo Jump

We put on leather shoes, slip into fleece jackets and chow down on hamburgers with no drama. But for thousands of years the Plains Indians coaxed their moccasins, robes and burgers to be into a thundering stampede that they then lead to the edge of a cliff. The Buffalo Jump is a beautifully illustrated book that tells of this ancient hunting method through Little Blaze, a young member of the Blackfeet tribe. He is upset that his older brother is chosen to lead the stampede, even though he is the faster runner. Little Blaze's true motivation is his longing for an adult name, which is earned after an act of bravery. I think your children will find this to be a satisfying story. And they might even read the author's historical notes about buffalo and buffalo jumps.

Ages 9-12

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If your child can't get enough of buffalo jumps, you'll have to plan a trip to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre. This is the home of one of the world's oldest, largest and best preserved buffalo jumps known to exist. In fact it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. If you are in the vicinity of Glacier National Park the centre is a few hours north, in Alberta, Canada.

Activity: Learn many ways in which buffalo were used with this Buffalo coloring page.

4 comments:

  1. Love your post! I'm looking to reviewing (along with my daughter) some European historical books preferably from 18thc or earlier...Any recommendations? Thanks:)

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  2. Barnes & Noble has a pretty good search tool. Go to BN.com and click on Kids, then Children's Books. Under Subjects click See All Subjects. Now choose History and then European History. A couple that looked good to me are: Saint Joan-The Soldier Girl by Louis de Wohl, Outrageous Women of the Renaissance by Vicki Leon, and two by one of my favorite author's, Jean Fritz. Their titles are Leonardo's Horse and Why Not Lafayette? I love Lafayette! I've got to get my hands on that book! I also love Till Year's Good End: A Calendar of Medieval Labors by Nikola-Lisa. Perfect prose and wonderful illustrations!

    I will be looking forward to seeing your (and your daughters) blog and on becoming a follower.

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  3. Wow! Thsank you so much- I'm on to it! I love Lafayette too:) This is great- I'm so happy I found your site. On mine, which is all about history and book reviews on historical fiction as well- I've decided to add a Sophia's Corner. This will be a section for my daughter to post reviews on books too. If you want to come check, here's the link:

    http://enchantedbyjosephine.blogspot.com/2009/08/book-moments-introducing-sophias-corner.html

    Thanks for making it so interesting and a great place for Moms like me to find such wonderful resources:)

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  4. Hi Jill!

    This looks like a great book. I will have to check it out.

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