Brother Eagle, Sister Sky.
Susan Jeffers.
How the story goes: The introduction states that this is a retelling of a speech made by Chief Seattle to the leaders of the USA on the signing of treaty agreements back in the day (1850s). So that's what the story is. It is a Native American take on how to treat the environment, why it's important, and what the effects of (for lack of a better term) raping the land would have.Set out in philosophical terms; "How can you buy the sky? How can you own the rain and the wind?", the retelling takes the reader (or listener) to account for their own actions and as a whole, the human race's. The images are graphically surreal and kids have fun finding the spirits hidden in them. The message is obvious: treat the land better.. or else. However, the links you can make from this book are varied: political, historical, cultural, and environmental.
It's a teachers dream (I made a HUGE unit around this book lol) and can be read to and read with all ages, although I would recommend it for ages 7-12. This is based around the length, which is rather long for a picture book. Parents: this book is useful for exploring perspective and looking at cause and effect (personal responsibility).
Genre: [Sophisticated Picture book] [Historical] [Native American Culture]
Jeffers, S (1991). Brother Eagle, Sister Sky. Dial Books: New York, NY.
