Review: The Crow Indians

I have to get going on these reviews…my pile is adding up as I seem to be reading more than I am writing.  Don’t want to get myself overwhelmed each time I look at the pile so here I go with another review!

——————————-

The Crow Indians
by Sonia Bleeker

As you can see from the picture, this is an older book I acquired at my local library.  Paid only 25 cents for this treasure.

The title, The Crow Indians, is an unoriginal title but it does sum up the topic of the book.  In this fictional story about the Crow, you follow three different Crow Indians; Eagle-claw, Bear-cub, and Meadow-lark.  It is through these three that the reader is transported into the past to learn about the traditions and lifestyle of the Crow Indians.  Each character opens up another window into the Crow.  Eagle-claw shares the experience of a boy transitioning into manhood and becoming a Crow warrior.  While looking through Meadow-lark’s eyes you learn more about the roles of the women and what is expected of them.  As for Bear-cub, he shows the reader the life of a Crow child.

Being an enthusiast of history, I was delighted with this book and the story of the Crow.  Each chapter was a fun discovery of different aspects of the Crow and their traditions, beliefs, and family life.  The stories were interesting and simply written.  Plus there were numerous sketches throughout the book.  These pictures helped the reader see the Crow as they were; their dressing style, home front, and the scenic surroundings of their terrain.

The pictures were illustrated by Althea Karr and are sketched in black, no color.  This does not make them any less interesting and I believe the drawings will capture the interest of the reader.

Due the easy reading, I would recommend this book to any age group but more for the young reader about 7-12 years of age.  If you know a child who is interested in the American Indians, I believe they’ll be interested in the stories told within this book.

The book was written in 1953 and I did not take the time to research the Crow, so I do not know if all the traditions and cultural references are accurate.  This is something you might want to look into if you are interested in using this book as a teaching tool.

This book is one in a series written by author Sonia Bleeker.  She has written other books about Native Americans – The Apache Indians, The Cherokee, and The Delaware Indians, to name a few.  I was able to obtain a few of these titles at my local library’s annual book sale and look forward to reading them.  These books make a great addition to the children’s section of my “library”.  🙂