Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird

Crow, Joe. Illustrated by Linda R. Martin. Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird. Washington D.C: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.

This tale, recounted by Joe Medicine Crow (a respected elder and historian of the Crow people), is part of a series of children’s books celebrating Native American culture called Tales of The People. This children’s book recounts a long standing tale involving a Thunderbird. As described in the back of the book, Thunderbirds are often characters found in Crow lore and it goes onto tell that the Thunderbird is the most powerful of all spirits. In this tale, Thunderbird is determined to save her young chicks from a monster that comes up from a lake and steals them every year. To do so, she grabs Brave Wolf when he is out hunting one day and brings him to her nest. To help Thunderbird, Brave Wolf comes up with a plan to build a fire right next to the nest. When the monster rises up from the lake, Brave Wolf stuffs the monster’s mouth with the hot stones from the fire instead of the baby chicks. “Steam shot up and made all kinds of hissing noises. The monster started wobbling around, groaning, and finally it fell backward into the lake with a big splash. And that was the end of the monster.” The recount of this tale is told with the right amount of cultural references corresponding with great descriptive details of the interesting characters in the book.

Linda R. Martin, part of the Navajo nation, has created illustrations using a variety of mediums. She has beautifully incorporated vibrant, accurate illustrations that complement the text well. The texture evokes an almost familiar Native American technique that brings a sense of comfort when reading the text. While it is apparent that Martin spent much time on the devise of her main characters, it is the backgrounds of the illustrations that are most beautiful. While the text itself is delightful and whimsical, it is the brilliant illustrations that bring the text to life.