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The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet
"A thoughtful collection that eloquently bears out the theme of unity of all creatures." — School Library Journal
Native American elders will tell you there is as much to see in the night as in the familiar light of day, and here Abenaki storyteller and American Book Award recipient Joseph Bruchac offers twelve unforgettable stories of the living earth seen from the sky.
"From the Mohawk and Missisquoi peoples of the Northeastern United States to the Pima, Cochiti Pueblo, and Navajo people of the Southwest to the Subarctic Inuit, these pieces reflect an awe and appreciation of the natural world. Locker's deeply hued paintings burst with the beauty of night." — The Horn Book
Native American elders will tell you there is as much to see in the night as in the familiar light of day, and here Abenaki storyteller and American Book Award recipient Joseph Bruchac offers twelve unforgettable stories of the living earth seen from the sky.
"From the Mohawk and Missisquoi peoples of the Northeastern United States to the Pima, Cochiti Pueblo, and Navajo people of the Southwest to the Subarctic Inuit, these pieces reflect an awe and appreciation of the natural world. Locker's deeply hued paintings burst with the beauty of night." — The Horn Book
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
10 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Bruchac
276 books590 followersJoseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.
He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.
He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 19, 2018
Good stuff although Bruchac ( Abenaki) telling twelve stories from other indigenous communities was a little suspicious. To his credit, he did list their sources. Awesome paintings.
December 12, 2023
📖 5 ⭐️
This is a short book of poems from various Native American tribes. This collection is about the stories, songs & sights Sky Bear (the Big Dipper) has heard along her path across the sky.
My favorites:
-The Scattered Stars - Cochin Pueblo in the southwest. A little girl is given a bag of white cotton to carry. She walks for many days with it & it begins to get heavy. She opens it to peak & the bag popped open. ‘And bright things began to escape to the sky.’ She quickly closed the bag but ‘only a few of the stars remained to be placed in patterns in the sky. All the others are scattered. They are still that because of her curiosity.”
-The Seven Mateinnu - Lenape in Eastern Woodlands
Long ago, 7 wise men lived among the people & they knew so much everyone always asked them for advice. They grew tired of being bothered & tried to hide. First, they transformed themselves into rocks. Seven big stones. But before too long the people found them and ‘because they were stones they had to sit and listen to everyone ask for help.’
They tried a second time to hide - this time transforming into 7 cedar trees, but again the people found them and ‘because they were rooted they still had to listen. At last they accepted that they could not hide. They changed themselves into seven stars dancing in the middle of the sky. Each night the people look up to them and see the answers to their questions in the light of those stars.”
This is a short book of poems from various Native American tribes. This collection is about the stories, songs & sights Sky Bear (the Big Dipper) has heard along her path across the sky.
My favorites:
-The Scattered Stars - Cochin Pueblo in the southwest. A little girl is given a bag of white cotton to carry. She walks for many days with it & it begins to get heavy. She opens it to peak & the bag popped open. ‘And bright things began to escape to the sky.’ She quickly closed the bag but ‘only a few of the stars remained to be placed in patterns in the sky. All the others are scattered. They are still that because of her curiosity.”
-The Seven Mateinnu - Lenape in Eastern Woodlands
Long ago, 7 wise men lived among the people & they knew so much everyone always asked them for advice. They grew tired of being bothered & tried to hide. First, they transformed themselves into rocks. Seven big stones. But before too long the people found them and ‘because they were stones they had to sit and listen to everyone ask for help.’
They tried a second time to hide - this time transforming into 7 cedar trees, but again the people found them and ‘because they were rooted they still had to listen. At last they accepted that they could not hide. They changed themselves into seven stars dancing in the middle of the sky. Each night the people look up to them and see the answers to their questions in the light of those stars.”
May 5, 2021
Book Title: The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet
Author/Illustrator: Joseph and Thomas Locker
Reading Level: 4.0
Book Level: K-8
Book Summary: Native American elders will tell you there is as much to see in the night as in the familiar light of day. This book offers twelve unforgettable poems of the living earth seen from the sky.
Bookshelf Genre: Poetry
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:
Sentence fluency: The words flow nicely and there is rhythm to the sentences.
Organization: The poems in this book are organized into stories, but still have the organization of a poem. The stanzas are transitioned well into the next ideas of the story.
I would have my students think of a story and organize into a poem. They would work on condensing the story and making sure that it fits into the organization and flow of a poem.
Author/Illustrator: Joseph and Thomas Locker
Reading Level: 4.0
Book Level: K-8
Book Summary: Native American elders will tell you there is as much to see in the night as in the familiar light of day. This book offers twelve unforgettable poems of the living earth seen from the sky.
Bookshelf Genre: Poetry
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:
Sentence fluency: The words flow nicely and there is rhythm to the sentences.
Organization: The poems in this book are organized into stories, but still have the organization of a poem. The stanzas are transitioned well into the next ideas of the story.
I would have my students think of a story and organize into a poem. They would work on condensing the story and making sure that it fits into the organization and flow of a poem.
April 19, 2021
I read this to my kids one poem per day during morning time. The illustrations are beautiful and I liked that it noted which Native American nation each story came from. However, there were quite a few that I felt probably lost a lot of their beauty when they were translated into English; I would rather have heard them read aloud in the original language while reading the translation than just read the translation. I did think that the Dawn House Song was particularly beautiful, though, and my kids loved Mouse’s Bragging Song because it has this adorable illustration of the mouse stretching up its paws and thinking it’s the only one who can touch the sky.
March 9, 2021
The earth under the sky bear's feet is an amazing book about indigenous people said through poetry. It tells us native American stories and explains how important stars really are to the natives and indigenous people of the land. The illustrations are beautiful as well and are very eye-catching. They bring the story to life, and it makes it feel like you are there with them beneath the stars and among the fireflies. I recommend this book to poetry lovers and anyone who would love to read a great message that this book can give you. The sky bear is among all the other star constellations.
August 27, 2018
This was a sweet book, educational and inspirational on the different Indian cultures while showing how tightly tied together they are through song, storytelling, and tradition. Lovely artwork throughout. Bruchac demonstrates the beauty, serenity, and respect Indians have for nature while conveying a beautiful love for culture. A lovely read.
February 22, 2021
The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet is an intriguing story that tells Native American stories through poetry. This story shows the importance of the stars through the stories of Indigenous people. This book not only has beautiful poems but beautiful messages of love, bonding, family, and tradition. Along with the text, there are eye-catching illustrations that bring the story to life.
March 18, 2021
I would use this book for diversity. I would also use it for helping to fulfill the standard about teaching about Native Americans. This would work well for lessons on Nature and astronomy in native American culture. A project I might do from this book is having the students write a poem based on nature. Nearly all poems in this book are associated with a group for example LENAPE from the Eastern Woodlands. Where the group is from seems to be reflected in the poems written. I was thinking of narrowing down the project to poetry about nature that reflects our local community. I think this could make a great display board.
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May 13, 2020very good
September 1, 2021
This is the first poetry book of BYL level 5 and both my 10 yr old and I enjoyed it. We took turns reading aloud on different days. I also thought the illustrations were beautiful.
November 15, 2021
Read over the course of two weeks to curate collection for 7th grade poetry project.
June 7, 2022
Neat!
August 22, 2024
Not as good as I wanted it to be.
July 8, 2020
The poems are beautiful and the illustrations are too. Bruchac introduces various Native American poems from many Nations through a story of Sky Bear. My son and I both loved it.
October 17, 2016
The book contains poems and stories of the many Native-American cultures. It shows that although these people speak many different languages, they all share the awareness of the world around them.
Genre: Poetry
The book contains poems, songs and stories in different cultures of Native-Americans. If there is one thing that I know about children it is that they love to sing. I could see using some of these traditional songs in my classroom. The stories tell the tales of what "Sky Bear," a constellation sees at night. Although everything is age appropriate in the stories, you would probably have to read one at a time. It would be hard to keep the attention of children while bouncing from one story to the next. The words in the stories can be understood, but the language use can get a little tricky. We talk a lot about multi-cultural education in the classroom, and although the stories in the readings do not provide us with a lot of juicy details, it allows us the opportunity to see how Native-American culture is represented "Under Sky Bear's Feet." We see the characters in this book not as real people, but instead as myths.
In most of the pictures the sun is setting or has already set. They have dream-like qualities about them. It is as if someone is singing you a lullaby and the pictures displayed is the last thing that might cross through your mind as you fall asleep. The pictures are less detailed than that of other books I've read, but are interesting and equally beautiful. The reader can get a good sense of what "Sky Bear" sees.
Joseph Bruchac notes at the end of his book the multitude of cultures that share the same awareness of the world around them, which I think is really cool. We get to see the differences in culture through "Sky Bear's" eyes. To be able to combine all of these aspects into one book that is tied together by a common theme is simply amazing! He does a great job of portraying how the different identities of each culture have been influenced. These are actual translations from Native-Americans, that show plenty of diversity. I commend Joseph Bruchac, a Native-American himself, on another job well done.
Genre: Poetry
The book contains poems, songs and stories in different cultures of Native-Americans. If there is one thing that I know about children it is that they love to sing. I could see using some of these traditional songs in my classroom. The stories tell the tales of what "Sky Bear," a constellation sees at night. Although everything is age appropriate in the stories, you would probably have to read one at a time. It would be hard to keep the attention of children while bouncing from one story to the next. The words in the stories can be understood, but the language use can get a little tricky. We talk a lot about multi-cultural education in the classroom, and although the stories in the readings do not provide us with a lot of juicy details, it allows us the opportunity to see how Native-American culture is represented "Under Sky Bear's Feet." We see the characters in this book not as real people, but instead as myths.
In most of the pictures the sun is setting or has already set. They have dream-like qualities about them. It is as if someone is singing you a lullaby and the pictures displayed is the last thing that might cross through your mind as you fall asleep. The pictures are less detailed than that of other books I've read, but are interesting and equally beautiful. The reader can get a good sense of what "Sky Bear" sees.
Joseph Bruchac notes at the end of his book the multitude of cultures that share the same awareness of the world around them, which I think is really cool. We get to see the differences in culture through "Sky Bear's" eyes. To be able to combine all of these aspects into one book that is tied together by a common theme is simply amazing! He does a great job of portraying how the different identities of each culture have been influenced. These are actual translations from Native-Americans, that show plenty of diversity. I commend Joseph Bruchac, a Native-American himself, on another job well done.
February 13, 2011
"The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet" is the follow-up to "Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back" and both are Native American poetry books from Joseph Bruchac. I did very much enjoy this book even though I haven't read the first. It is a collection of songs and stories from many Native American nations, from those living in the Southwest to the Arctic to the East. Sky Bear, the cluster of stars in the sky also known as the Big Dipper, watches over all Native Americans from sunset to sunrise, and he makes an appearance in all the poems. Nature plays a vital role in this book, and the respect Native Americans have for nature is apparent. The poetry encourages readers to love the night as much as they love the day. Illustrations from Thomas Locker feature a stunning sunset on the title page, the flicker of fireflies, shadows of cactus against an orange sky, and twinkling stars watching over everything.
This book is a great resource for introducing basic Native American stories from a variety of areas in the U.S. to children. It would also be great for a read aloud in the school library or classroom. Includes an Author's Note from Bruchac at the end.
This book is a great resource for introducing basic Native American stories from a variety of areas in the U.S. to children. It would also be great for a read aloud in the school library or classroom. Includes an Author's Note from Bruchac at the end.
October 21, 2013
Why this book? This book would add to our poetry selection and would also represent a cultural group not currently represented, Native Americans
Genre: Poetry Collections
Theme/Keywords: Friendship, Problem-solving, sharing
Characteristics of quality: Vivid, beautifully worded poems allow children to expand their imagnination and see natural occurances, such as stars in the night sky in a new way
Special Features: Beautiful landscape art created by American author and painter Thomas Locker
Gender of primary character: A variety of characters, both animals and people
Race/ethnicity of primary character: Native Americans from a number of different tribes
Cultural considerations: From the Anishinabe to the Mohawk, there are many different poems from different tribes used to describe nature, natural occurances and the environment
Language considerations: Each poem passed down from different Native American tribes illustrates colorful imagery and traditions unique to each tribe.
Open Ended Question: Can you imagine the Bear in the Sky? Why do you think the Mohawk thought that this looked like a Bear in the Sky?
Genre: Poetry Collections
Theme/Keywords: Friendship, Problem-solving, sharing
Characteristics of quality: Vivid, beautifully worded poems allow children to expand their imagnination and see natural occurances, such as stars in the night sky in a new way
Special Features: Beautiful landscape art created by American author and painter Thomas Locker
Gender of primary character: A variety of characters, both animals and people
Race/ethnicity of primary character: Native Americans from a number of different tribes
Cultural considerations: From the Anishinabe to the Mohawk, there are many different poems from different tribes used to describe nature, natural occurances and the environment
Language considerations: Each poem passed down from different Native American tribes illustrates colorful imagery and traditions unique to each tribe.
Open Ended Question: Can you imagine the Bear in the Sky? Why do you think the Mohawk thought that this looked like a Bear in the Sky?
April 11, 2010
This is another beautifully illustrated Native American story filled with wonderful poems that explain to the reader (and listener) that there is much to see in the living night sky. From the northern lights, to various constellations, to the nocturnal animals who come out at night to sing their songs. An Iroquois grandmother who teaches her granddaughter that there is no reason to be afraid at night tells this story.
Instructional uses for The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet:
1. This is a great book to use if you are teaching a unit on Native Americans. Students can create their own stories about the different animals that come out at night, or the different constellations that appear in the night sky.
2. The class can write a song together about the night sky, and sing it at the culmination of the unit.
3. Students can paint pictures to go with their stories.
4. Have a class discussion about the similarities differences and between this story and Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back. Record the responses on large chart paper.
Instructional uses for The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet:
1. This is a great book to use if you are teaching a unit on Native Americans. Students can create their own stories about the different animals that come out at night, or the different constellations that appear in the night sky.
2. The class can write a song together about the night sky, and sing it at the culmination of the unit.
3. Students can paint pictures to go with their stories.
4. Have a class discussion about the similarities differences and between this story and Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back. Record the responses on large chart paper.
May 5, 2011
The poems in this book are wonderful and I think really show that there is much more to see than we really like to believe. These poems show the beauty of nature and the sky. Like the author's note says, everything, animals, plants, rocks, etc each have their own story to tell and only if we'd listen, we could hear it.
The author's note from Joseph Bruchac was also wonderful and the illustrations are beautiful.
I know this is a poetry book I'd read again and again.
The author's note from Joseph Bruchac was also wonderful and the illustrations are beautiful.
I know this is a poetry book I'd read again and again.
July 30, 2009
This book is a collection of Native American poems accompanied by Thomas Locker's gorgeous paintings. For any child interested in Indians, how they lived, their belief in the divine, this book is a beautiful discovery of all those things through poertry taken from Native Americans.
March 15, 2021
This is an amazing little book!! The words are rich with meaning, the culture of Native Americans this book is based on is great to share with students, especially in poem form. Great read and very educational.
ATOS: 4.2
DRA: 40
6 Traits: sentence fluency
ATOS: 4.2
DRA: 40
6 Traits: sentence fluency
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July 30, 2009JE398.2-Bru
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November 16, 2009Poems from different native american nations.
April 2, 2012
The book is a collection of many beautiful Native American poems. With beautiful illustrations, this book is perfect for students interests in poetry.
April 15, 2013
For this book the students could write poems about the natural world around them similar to the ones found in the story.
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October 28, 2017This book consists on many poems from Native American tribes from all around North American. My favorite one is Song to the Firefly, a poem from the Anishinabe tribe, along the shore of Gitchee-gummi which is the Native American's name of our beloved Lake Superior.
This book would make for a great poetry lesson on the different types of poems the Native American's wrote. We can look are the nature within the poems and how they find life in every little thing.
This book would make for a great poetry lesson on the different types of poems the Native American's wrote. We can look are the nature within the poems and how they find life in every little thing.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews