Annotated Bibliography: Aboriginal Stories

McDermott, Gerald. Raven: A Trickster Tale From The Pacific Northwest. 1st ed.
Toronto: Voyager Books Harcourt Inc., 1993. Print.

This book is a telling from an Aboriginal culture of how the sun came to be in the
sky. The main character, Raven, was curious about a light he saw off in the
distance and quickly found out it was coming from the Sky Chiefs house. When
Raven got to the house he used the Sky Chiefs daughter, by tricking her into
drinking him into her as a pine needle, to get inside to find out where exactly the
light was coming from. A little while later he was born to the Chiefs daughter as a
human boy and found that the light was coming from a box. Everyone was
enamoured with him and gave him the ball of light from inside the box when he
cried for it. He then turned back into the Raven and threw the ball into the sky,
giving the sun to the rest of humanity. The illustrations found in the book are very
bright and colourful, especially for Raven who is depicted as a hero to humanity.
The patterns found throughout the story and especially within Ravens body
really speak to the Aboriginal culture from which this story came.

In using this in my own classroom I would suggest that this story is appropriate
for K-2; students above this grade band may find the story boring or not
challenging enough to keep them interested. I would use this book as a read
aloud for the Engagement, or hook, of my lesson. The book asks some guiding
questions within its text and I think it would be useful in getting students thinking
about the sun, and where other cultures believe it came from.

Okimoto, Jean. Winston Of Churchill: One Bear's Battle Against Global Warming. 1st ed.
Toronto: Scholastic, 2007. Print.

This picture book is about a polar bear named Winston who lives in Churchill, in the
north of Manitoba. The story tells of his wish to stop Global Warming, and how it is
affecting the ice up north. He proposes, to the rest of his polar bear friends, that they
stage a protest in front of the tourists the next day when they come to see them. His
wife, however, pulls him aside and says she isnt going unless he stops smoking,
explaining that this is also polluting the air and that every little bit helps. The next day the
protest is held and the tourists are amazed by the sight of the polar bears and their
signs. The illustrations in this book are really eye-catching and funny. The expressions
on the bears faces alone would have Elementary learners hooked.

I would use this book for a grade 2 or three class. Although most of the story would be
an easy read for most of these students the information given about the atmosphere
could be a little tricky for younger learners. In discussing global warming and the effects
 humans have had on the environment I would use this in the Engagement part of my
lesson. We would then have a discussion about other ways we as humans have
impacted our environment.

Syliboy, Alan. The Thundermaker. 1st ed. Print.

This story is of a young boys journey in taking over his fathers sacred duty and
becoming the Thundermaker. The book begins in his childhood, with his mother and
father teaching him about their way of life. During this time his father teaches him about
what it means to be the Thundermaker and how to throw the lightening that will create
Kluscap, the teacher, who is needed to teach the humans and keep them healthy. When
it comes time Little Thunder takes over his fathers duty, but is distracted in trying to
create Kluscap by his friend Wolverine. However, he focuses on his task and is
rewarded by successfully creating The Teacher. This book not only tells of an Aboriginal
tale, but is also underlined by the artistic style of the illustrations. The author of this book
is, himself, a famous Aboriginal artist and has put one of his cultures stories in both
writing and pictures.

I would use this story within the K-2 grade band. I would use this in the Engagement
portion of my lesson within the context of weather, specifically thunder and lightening,
and what other cultures believe about it and where it comes from.

Service, Robert W and Ted Harrison. The Cremation Of Sam Mcgee. 1st ed. Toronto, ON: Kids
Can Press, 2013. Print.

This story is about two men who are in the Yukon during the time of the Gold Rush.
During a trip Sam McGee gets so cold that he freezes to death, however, before doing
so his last request to his travel companion is that, if he does die, he wishes to be
cremated. In trying to look for the right spot the other man continues on his journey over
the tundra and finally comes to Lake LeBarge, where, he decides, is a good spot to
Cremate Sam. To his surprise Sam only needed to be warmed up and the fire did just
the trick. Although this is not necessarily an Aboriginal tale in that the main characters
are not Aboriginal, as far as one can tell, the illustrations in this book have Aboriginal
characteristics and captures the North beautifully.

The level of text and the nature of the material presented would make this story more
suited to a grade 5 classroom. They would be better able to understand the idea of what
cremation is without getting freaked out. With this story I would use it to introduce the
concept of different climates around Canada. Most people who live in New Brunswick
have never been anywhere near the North and therefore it is harder for them to truly
understand how harshly cold their climate can be.
Vaughan, Richard. Eagle Boy: A Pacific Northwest Native Tale. 1st ed. Seattle: Sasquatch
Books, 2000. Print.
 This story is about a tribe of Aboriginal people, who felt like eagles were stealing
their fish away from them, all except one boy who believed them to be his friends and
fed them fish so that they wouldnt go hungry. As food dwindled the tribe decided to
leave in search of a place with more food, and, since they did not much care for Eagle
Boy, they left him behind to starve. The chiefs youngest daughter, in concern for the
boy, snuck him a piece of fish before leaving on a canoe. The eagles took care of the
boy who was left behind and fed him fish, and even brought him a whale. In wanting to
repay the chiefs daughter he asked one of the eagles to bring her some fish, and when
she received it she told her father, who had had no luck in finding food, that they should
go back and ask Eagle Boy for forgiveness. The eagle, who had been watching, went
back to Eagle Boy and communicated that his people were starving without him. The
next morning he decided he would forgive his people and went to them, in the form of
an eagle, and dropped fish down to them so that they would be nourished enough to
come back home. He then married the youngest daughter of the chief and eventually
became a great chief himself, using the eagle as the symbol of his people.

I would use this story with a grade 3-5 band, as the descriptive words in the text
are a bit too advanced for students under the grade 3 level. With this story I would talk
about life cycles, or perhaps even the food chain.

Lewis, Paul Owen. Frog Girl. 1st ed. Berkeley, California: Tricycle Press, 2001. Print.

This story is about the Chiefs daughter, who loves listening to the frogs sing. One day
two boys catch them all while they are hunting, except for one. This last frog asks the girl to
come back with her to her village, where her grandmother asks her what happened to all of her
children. The girl explains that she doesnt know, the only thing she saw were two boys catching
them with nets. The grandmother is distraught as the girl returns back to her own village. There,
a volcano is erupting and in trying to look for her people the girl comes across all of the frogs
that were taken. She returns them to the lake where they came from, and as she does so rain
begins to fall, putting out the fires the volcano has caused. The girls people come back to the
village and the girl explains to her father that the frogs are their brothers and sisters and they
should be treated as such.

I would use this book within the grade 3-5 band as a way to introduce the harms we can
cause in over hunting and what it means for animals to go extinct and our part we a playing in
the extinction of animals around the world.