Books with author Sonia Bleeker

SYNOPSIS: "Slim Runner watched as two fire swallowers plunged burning sticks into their open mouths. Perhaps their courage would drive out the evil that had entered his body. But he was not cured and the thirteen-year-old boy was sent to the white man's hospital. There he worked on his paintings but when he returned back home he needed to decide between his dreams and his responsibilities to his family. He learned to be a silversmith and waited until his family were able to send him to art school. Final chapter tells about the Navajo Today."

For the sixth volume in her authoritative series about North American Indians, Miss Bleeker has chosen a tribe whose former territory is now Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and southern New York. ... This important tribe's typical habits and customs, legends and ceremonies, are presented through the eyes of one particular family and its children. The history of the Delaware--including a graphic picture of their happy relations with William Penn--is brought up to the present day.

In the country now called Ghana live the Ashanti, a tribal group that at one time was the mightiest in West Africa. For the third book in her series on Africa, Sonia Bleeker presents a portrait of these hard-working, independent people. Because their land contained gold that the rest of the world wanted, the history of the Ashanti took a very different course from that of other Africans. In addition to explaining the origins and development of Ashanti civilization, Miss Bleeker takes up their religion, family and government organization, crafts, and System of communication by talking drum. Working from accounts of early European visits to this area, she unfolds a fascinating story of Ashanti life and customs. Their religion, based on ancestor worship in the form of a golden stool, is of particular interest. This story of the Ashanti is told with perception and understanding, and it will give readers a special insight into a way of life very different from our own. Detailed illustrations throughout add greatly to the value and attractiveness of the book.

Few Indians living in the 18th-century southern California knew as many villages and spoke as many dialects as Little Singer. While still very young, he displayed a natural ability for learning the songs of his people; by the time he was twelve, he was in area demand all over this region as a ceremonial singer. Village life, as Little Singer saw it, was much the same everywhere. The women gathered acorns and other edible plants, the men hunted and fished, and everyone faithfully observed the sacred ceremonies of the tribe and treasured its legends. Little Singer's peaceful existence changed very suddenly when a Spanish expedition arrived at San Diego Bay in 1769. Now Indian life centered around the new Spanish missions, where the work was hard and the discipline strict. Through Little Singer's eyes, we follow the troubled history of these Indians up to 1846, when the United States gained control of California. Sonia Bleeker has expertly combined Little Singer's moving personal story with the authentic description of an old way of life, and Althea Karr's illustrations lend added meaning and detail.