Books with author Joseph Bruhac

Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years. But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye- opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo Indians.

In the 1960s in graduate school, Joseph Bruchac studied with Grace Paley and met Allen Ginsberg. He went on to earn his PhD and work in Africa, an experience that confirmed his belief that native peoples all over the world possess hard-won knowledge—of humanity's capacity for self-destruction—wisdom set down in their stories and traditions. Now in his sixties, Bruchac is known for keeping these stories alive, through traditional Native American storytelling, original children’s books, fiction, and poetry. Books in his "Keepers of the Earth" series, co-authored with Michael Caduto, have sold millions of copies.At the End of Ridge Road, a philosophical memoir, brings together the threads of Bruchac's life and reveals the linkage between his interest in native cultures—he is Abenaki—and his views about human dignity and social justice. He begins by asking readers to "take off your watch" and "live time" rather than being ruled by it. He then tells about his childhood in the Adirondacks, the Abenaki heritage of the region, his path from "nature nut" to jock to writer, and his house on Ridge Road. Through these stories, property, and "the circle as a way of seeing."

Code Talker, with starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, is a Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth. Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.

Fatherless Cody LeBeau is an American Indian boy who is starting high school with the usual trepidation. He fits into none of the cliques at the new school, but somehow keeps being noticed anyway—and is often teased because of his tendency to stutter. Then his Uncle Pat, an accomplished martial arts sensei, moves into the town and becomes the one who shows Cody "the way" through the maze of adolescent doubt and into manhood.

A unique perspective on the Civil War as only Joseph Bruchac could tell it. Louis Nolette is a fifteen-year-old Abenaki Indian from Canada who is recruited to fight in the northern Irish Brigade in the war between the states. Even though he is too young, and not American or Irish, he finds the promise of good wages and the Union?s fight to end slavery persuasive reasons to join up. But war is never what you expect, and as Louis fights his way through battle after battle, he encounters prejudice and acceptance, courage and cowardice, and strong and weak leadership in the most unexpected places. Master storyteller and acclaimed author Joseph Bruchac tells a Civil War story based on the experiences of his own great grandfather. Chock-full of historical facts and details, this carefully researched book will give readers new insight into some of the untold stories and unsung heroes of the American Civil War.