Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird: (A Tale from the Crow)

by Joe Medicine Crow, Joseph Medicine Crow, Linda R. Martin (Illustrations)

Every spring a great big monster climbs out of the lake and up the cliff to steal the mother Thunderbird's young chicks. This year she is determined to save them, but she needs human help. So she snatches up Brave Wolf while he is out hunting and carries him to her nest, where he comes up with a plan . . . Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird  is based on a story recounted by Joe Medicine Crow in  All Roads Are Native Voices on Life and Culture  (Smithsonian Institution Press and NMAI). Grandson of a scout who rode with Custer, Mr. Medicine Crow (1913-2016) was a highly respected elder, storyteller, and historian of the Crow people. The first member of his tribe to graduate from college, he earned an M.A. in anthropology. In addition to his calling as a teacher and "keeper of memories," he was a decorated World War II combat veteran and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009.   About the Tales of the People series   Created with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Tales of the People is a series of children's books celebrating Native American culture with illustrations and stories by Indian artists and writers. In addition to the tales themselves, each book also offers four pages filled with information and photographs exploring various aspects of Native culture, including a glossary of words in different Indian languages.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

30 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird was a Crow historian, author and an enrolled member of the Crow Nation of Native Americans. He was the last war chief of the Crow Tribe. His best known writings on Native American history concern the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He earned both a bachelor’s degree and master degree before 1939. He receive three honorary doctorates. Medicine Crow received the United States' highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009.

Also published under Joseph Medicine Crow.

Reviews

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I always expect these to have a moral

[Hannah Burdorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a Native American legend about a man named Brave Wold and the mythical thunderbird. The thunderbird picked up Brave Wolf and brought him to her nest and told him that every year her young was eaten by a monster that came out of the lake. Nothing she could do would stop the monster. So Brave Wolf had her bring him logs to build a fire, rocks, and to kill a buffalo. He mad a basket out of the bufallo hide and made a fire to heat the rocks up. When the monster came up to eat the young, Brave Wolf had the thunderbird fill the basket with water and he pushed the hot stones into the monster's mouth. Then after the monster swallowed all of the rocks, Brave Wolf poured all of the water into the monster's mouth which vanquished the monster. This particular story was based on a legend that had been passed down orally for generations that the author turned into a picture book. This would be a good edition to a classroom library. It also was a wonderful story to read.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of the series Tales of the People. It is the story of a Thunderbird who loses her young to a monster living in the lake beneath her nest each year. Determined to stop the monster this year she snatches up Brave Wolf, a human while he is out hunting and asks him for his help. The book's genre is folklore and it is for a 2nd grade reading level, but could span across many grades. Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird also includes a few pages on Crow people and the history of black birds in their legends. This book and others from the Tales of the People series would be great resources when teaching about Native Americans or reading and writing folklore.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Native American folktale about a man named Brave Wolf who helps Thunderbird defeat a monster from the lake who is trying to eat Thunderbird's babies.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-done retelling of a Crow Thunderbird tale, with fantastic illustrations. I also liked the notes and afterword.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this while searching for a biography of the author for my class. This is well told but a bit dark for K.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading a newspaper article about the life and death of Joe Medicine Crow this past week, I was intrigued and wondered if my local library had any of his books. They had this lovely picture book and a short nonfiction book, so I checked them both out. This is part of the Tales of the People series in which the author and illustrator are both Native American, the books celebrate Native American culture and include four pages of information and photographs at the end. If the other books in the series are like this, they are definitely worth reading.

This was a wonderful story about a man named Brave Wolf who helps the Thunderbird (a creature found in many native people's legends) save her children from a monster. Brave Wolf does this by using a combination of brains and brawn.

I love the photos and information in the back.

I definitely plan to check out more books in this series.

[Betty Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

While hunting, Brave Wolf, human being, is snatched by a huge Thunderbird and taken to her nest on a high cliff, so he can protect her chicks from a monster. Brave Wolf made a basket to hold water with the buffalo skin and heated rocks in the fire. When monster came out of the water to eat Thunderbird’s chicks, Brave Wolf rolled the heated rocks in the monster’s mouth and poured the water. The monster died, Thunderbird invited all birds for a big feast and carried Brave Wolf back home. This book represents Native American culture, especially Crow people who think Thunderbird as most powerful creature. This book provides lots of information about ‘Thunderbird,’ the bird that shooting lightning bolts from their eyes, according to Crows.

[Rebecca Millerjohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Tales of the people Native American Folktale. Told with traditional art of the tribe with an awesome author's note from the smithsonian included.

[Catherine Petrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent retelling of a Crow Indian folk tale, published in cooperation with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.