Books with author Virginia Driving Haw Sneve

Norman Two Bull is a modern and savvy fifteen-year-old Sioux who lives on a Dakota reservation with his parents. He is impatient with, if not faintly contemptuous of, the “old ways.” Encouraged by his grandfather, Norman makes a perilous climb to the top of a sacred butte, searching for agates where Indian boys had once gone for spirit visions. There, unexpectedly, he finds an ancient relic with the power to make strange things happen—and they do! When Thunders Spoke is a haunting story whose strength often lies in what is not said.

Strange events provide an undercurrent of tension in The Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman. Three Indian girls who are cousins encounter a weird creature while secretly exploring an old fort on the South Dakota prairie. Playfully, they name it the chichi hoohoo bogeyman—after the Sioux, Hopi, and white figures used to frighten children. They are reminded of nerve-racking occurrences at home, perhaps driven by spirits. The most rebellious of the girls disappears, and the mystery of the chichi hoohoo bogeyman comes to light. Booklist praised the “fresh, in-tune portrayal of the girls and their families” and recommended the book for readers in grades 3 to 5.