Horse Raid: The Making of a Warrior by: Paul Goble Review & Interview

told and illustrated by: Paul Goble foreword by: Joseph Bruchac Subject(s): Age range / Grade level  / Lexile: Juvenile Fiction / Native American 4 and up / 4th–5th / Lexile measure: 880L Format: Size / page count: Hardcover 7.125" × 10.25" / 44 pages ISBN: Date available: 978-1-937786-25-0 Available in June 2014 Price:   $16.95

For the tribes of the American plains in the Buffalo Days of the pre-reservation life, horse raiding was a chance for men to show their courage and bravery in battle. “No man can help another to be brave,” says grandfather to fourteen-year-old Lone Bull, “but through brave deeds you may become a leader one day.” Lone Bull wanted to be a warrior and he knew he could be victorious in a horse raid if only given the chance! But when Lone Bull’s father refuses to let his son and his best friend join the raid, what do the young boys do? They set off to follow the group with the help of grandfather! Will it all end in disaster? Master storyteller Paul Goble brings to life this exciting and timeless coming-of-age story of Lone Bull, a young Lakota boy eager to join the warriors on a horse raid against the Crow. This newly-revised edition features digitally enhanced artwork, completely revised text, a brand new layout, and a fascinating “Foreword” from world-famous storyteller Joseph Bruchac. From the “Foreword” by Joseph Bruchac Few non-Indians have immersed themselves as deeply in the histories and traditions of the Native nations of the Great Plains as Paul Goble. Through his distinguished career as an artist and a storyteller, he’s always paid close attention to the details that often elude those who try to write about or illustrate Native American stories but lack his knowledge and desire for veracity. That’s one reason why this new edition of Lone Bull’s Horse Raid, first published in 1973, is so welcome. Another reason is his writing. It is as direct, informative, and clear as a Lakota elder recounting the tale to his grandchildren. The story moves at a pace as rapid and exciting as the horse raid it describes. Here’s a passage about getting ready outside the enemy camp: I took off my leggings to walk more quietly. Charging Bear cut cottonwood bark and we rubbed the cool sap over our bodies because horses like the sweet smell and would not fear strangers in the dark. Then there are the illustrations. Goble’s style has always been distinctly his own, including his use of a white “spirit line” around his figures. But it also draws upon and honors the ancient Plains traditions of stylized art that we see on parfleche bags and the tanned buffalo skin “winter counts” where a year’s important events were pictured. One should note that American Indian traditions of raiding other tribes for horses were viewed as an honorable pursuit by all the native nations of the Great Plains. It was not “stealing” in the European sense, but something done to earn honor amongst one’s people as much as it was to obtain those horses. In fact, it was common for men who were successful in taking horses from another tribe to then give away many of those same horses to one’s own tribal members who needed them. It’s also interesting to note that the way of life Goble presents so brilliantly only began after Spanish herds escaped and spread across the center of the continent following the great Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The time of mounted Indians hunting buffalo and raiding for horses lasted less than two centuries and ended abruptly during the last third of the 19th century with the brutal near-extermination of the American bison by white hunters. This book tells a story of that time as well as anyone has ever told it. Within these pages you’ll experience the bravery, tension, and triumph of a young man on his first raid. It’s a trip worth taking. —Joseph Bruchac, author of such books as: Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children (with Michael Caduto),Children of the Longhouse, Eagle Song, Sacajawea, Trail of Tears, and Crazy Horse’s Vision (illustrated by S.D. Nelson). Paul Goble Paul Goble is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. He has won both the Caldecott Medal and The Library of Congress’ Children’s Book of the Year Award. To date, Paul has illustrated over 30 books. His recent books for Wisdom Tales include The Man Who Dreamed of Elk-Dogs & Other Stories from the Tipi andThe Woman who Lived with Wolves & Other Stories from the Tipi. Goble’s most recent book for Wisdom Tales is Custer’s Last Battle: Red Hawk’s Account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. This is an account of the battle from authentic Indian sources, but told by a fictional narrator who is a boy. An even newer book will be released in June of 2015: Horse Raid: The Making of a Warrior. He has given his entire collection of original illustrations to the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, South Dakota, where it is permanently on display. Paul would like to share with you some important points about his life: I love my work, but I have to work every day, and for long hours. I can be at my desk from early morning until late at night. My thoughtful wife, Janet, encourages me and I often ask her advice about my books. I use an old-fashioned typewriter, not a computer. It was the same when I was young, and I use the same equipment that I used in my childhood: pens, pencils, and watercolors. An American Indian lady once wrote to me: “I’ve always thought the wanagi (spirits) are close to you. Some of your illustrations reveal that the ancestors come to visit you in your dreams.” When I was growing up in England, near Oxford, I loved nature and would often walk to the lake at the end of our garden. I enjoyed the trees, flowers, birds, and insects. I spent much of my time in search of wild flowers for my pressed-flower collection, and watching birds. I drew and painted birds and butterflies from books in our home, and from things I saw in museums. I was a stamp and coin collector and had many rocks, horseshoes, and feathers. I grew up during World War II, and so I also collected bullet shells and pieces of German bombs, two of which fell so close that our house had to be re-roofed twice. I grew up in a musical family. My mother was a musician and my father made harpsichords and other musical instruments. As I work, I listen to classical music. Bach is my favorite composer. I used to play duets with my son, Robert, on recorders which my father made during the 1930s and 1940s. Since my childhood my greatest interest was in everything related to the American Indians and I read many books about them. My mother encouraged me in my fascination with the Indians and she read me books about Indians. She made me a tipi, and painted it with designs, and sewed a fringed shirt and leggings for me to wear. I have often enjoyed walking and every day I would walk about four miles. In the British Army, I was a good marcher in the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry! I also enjoy camping and Janet, Robert, and I have camped in beautiful and remote places in the Rocky Mountains, or out on the Great Plains of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and Alberta, Canada. We meet American Indian people who live there. Those who know the Great Plains will recognize some of the hills and buttes, birds and plants in my books. My books and paintings are about things which happened long ago. I try to get details right in my stories and illustrations, because mistakes would be rude to American Indian people, and to my readers. may need to know the colors and designs of blankets made a hundred years ago, or the designs that were painted on rawhide storage bags. I have my own library to refer to. I also have albums of photographs, which I have taken over the years, of American Indian artifacts in museum collections. When I am working on retelling a traditional myth or legend, I often ask American Indian people to tell me the story. I want to hear them tell it in their own words. Goble studied at the Central School of Art in London. He has lived in the United States since 1977 and became a citizen in 1984. In 1959, he travelled to the American west, where he was able to meet with many of the old-timers for the first time. During the trip, Goble was adopted into the Yakima and Sioux tribes (with the name Wakinyan Chikala, “Little Thunder”) by Chief Edgar Red Cloud. Goble’s illustrations accurately depict Native American clothing, customs, and surroundings in brilliant color and detail. He also researches ancient stories and retells them for his young audiences. Goble lives with his wife in Rapid City, SD. They have one adult son. An Interview with Paul Goble Kathy Floyd from Wisdom Tales Press interviewed award-winning author/illustrator Paul Goble in April, 2014 about his life and work: What do you think it is about your books that have attracted children, parents and librarians over the years? What makes them so special to readers? I am indeed glad to think that the books are special to people. Is it the color, the layout? Is it the difference from the general genre of “children’s books”? (I have always felt a bit of a square peg in a round hole as far as children’s books are concerned.) Is it that I have always tried to add an extra dimension of spirituality, or of wonder to the story, for I very much feel it when working on the stories, and I like to think it might be the same with the artwork as well. Is it something to do with that I am old-fashioned? What has been the most challenging aspect of illustrating the stories that you have chosen? Figures, people, men and women, children! It has sometimes taken me all day to get the drawing of a figure “right”, or as near as I can get it. During the early years I used to think, and hope, that drawing would become easier in time, but it never did. All drawing is difficult, but figures in particular. I defy any artist to say drawing is easy, because if it is no struggle then the capabilities are not being stretched. What do you hope that children, in particular, will get out of your books? As a child, before I could read, my mother read often to me, specially the books by Beatrix Potter. When I could read for myself I had few books written just for children, but instead struggled through “chapter books”, likeTreasure Island, and Masterman Ready, Mr Midshipman Easy, mostly stories to do with the sea. When working on books, it was never my intention to write just for children but for adults as well. Perhaps this was because I never really knew what constituted a book for children! I have always thought that children rise to what they can take in from a book, and adults take in what they read at their own level of understanding. Most authors and illustrators seek to make the children laugh. I must just be more serious than most. Is there any book you have not written or illustrated that you always wanted to do? Having written and illustrated my first two books: Custer’s Last Battle andThe Fetterman Fight, I wanted to do a book about the Ghost Dance and the Massacre at Wounded Knee. It is a depressing slice of history and perhaps would have made a good book. You were born in England but have a great love for the American Indians. What attracted you in particular to the Plains Indians from North America? In the early years my mother read me the books by Grey Owl, and she made me a play tipi and outfit, complete with buzzard feather warbonnet. Later, as a teenager, and having read Black Elk Speaks – Being the life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, by J.G. Neihardt, and the Letter and Notes by George Catlin, (and much more), I was fortunate to come into contact with people who knew Indian people: Fr Gall Schuon, a Trappist monk of theAbbaye de Notre-Dame de Scourmont in Belgium, adopted by Black Elk and given the name Lakota Ishnala, Lone Sioux; Joseph Epes Brown who authored The Sacred Pipe and was adopted by Black Elk with the nameChanumpa Yuha Mani, He Who Walks with the Sacred Pipe. At an impressionable age, these and others helped to shape my life. Your books include retellings of the sacred myths and legends from the Plains Indians. What kind of research do you do for each of your books? Over the years I have read many myths. When one or another comes to mind, it is usually because I feel I understand its inner meanings, rather than just something quite foreign. Probably the myth exists in several quite different published forms or accounts. I am a traditionalist and I seek to go back to the oldest published sources because I feel those are likely to be the truest. I go to my Native American contacts and ask them to tell me the story, but usually they have no memory of it; ‘not one of ours, another tribe’s’, etc…, even if I know it was part of their tribal memory at one time. The oldest sources are to be found in museum and society records, usually rather difficult to obtain. These were authored by scientists who often had little knowledge of the story’s context and saw it merely as a whimsical tale. But it was told for a reason by the “buffalo eaters”, during the period around 1880 to 1920, a period when scientists were eager to record whatever they could before it slipped from memory, and the “buffalo eaters” were similarly eager to leave a record because their children and grandchildren were learning the ways of white people, and were no longer interested. It was an interesting period of cooperation, although today is little countenanced by Indian people, because, like all of us, they find the thought process too foreign, and certainly very much in the culture has changed since buffalo days. Your Illustrations incorporate influences from American Indian ledger book art. Could you say a little more about this? When I first saw ledger book art (Cohoe 1964; Bad Heart Bull 1967), I fell in love with its bright colors and its drawing. In my innocence I felt I could copy it! And looking today at my early books, Custer, Fetterman and Horse Raid, the influence of ledger book art is plain to be seen. But thereafter I slowly began to find my own style. The signature “white lines” were my attempt to brighten the art rather like bead and quillwork. Where is your favorite place to work? What is your studio like, if you have one? At home with my beloved wife, Janet! North light, south light, any window so long as the light is good. It has never mattered, so long as I can be quiet and listen to Bach as I work. I once complained to Marco Pallis that my conditions of work were not good and that I had difficulties. Never wait for conditions to be right, they never will be, he told me. He told how he once met a painter in Tibet of beautiful thangkas on silk. He worked in a corner near the kitchen in a three- or four-generation household, but when he painted he was totally cut off mentally from his surroundings. Marco told me I should try to be like that man. My work desk has been from just 4 feet to 18 feet wide, depending on the space I had. Nothing special. Write or paint about whatever you love best! Get excited about it! Let yourself become obsessed in it! Even monomania?! Your career as an author has been incredibly successful. If you hadn’t become an author/illustrator, what other career would you like to have pursued? Do you think you would have been good at it? Furniture designer. I had already won several competitions, but my designs were considered on the whole to be too avant-garde, too modern, and I had already gone more into teaching in an art college than working freelance. Do you have any special message for your readers? I hope that children, parents, grandparents, teachers will all like the books. Nobody is too old, or too young to think about the inner meanings of a sacred myth. That is why I prefer books to be listed as for “all ages”. If it is not of interest to parents they will not read it to their children, for being read to is as important as reading to oneself. Ignore the designations which publishers so love to give their books! References Blish, Helen H., and Amos Bad Heart Bull, 1967. A Pictographic History of the Oglala Sioux. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Cohoe, WIlliam, 1964. A Cheyenne Sketchbook. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Awards Won by Goble and his Books The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses: The prestigious Caldecott Medal Star Boy: The Library of Congress’ Children’s Book of the Year Award The Earth Made New: Plains Indian Stories of Creation: Gold Midwest Book Award for “Child/Young Adult Fiction” All Our Relatives: Traditional Native American Thoughts about Nature: Silver Midwest Book Award for “Nature” Nomination for James Madison Book Award Tipi: Home of the Nomadic Buffalo Hunter: ForeWord Book of the Year Award Finalist for “Juvenile Nonfiction” 2 Silver Midwest Book Awards for: “Child/Young-Adult Non-Fiction” and “Nature” Winner of the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award for “Interior Design, Children’s/Young Adult” In 2006, Paul Goble received the Regina Medal, an American literary award of the Catholic Library Association, for his “continued, distinguished contribution to children’s literature.” My Review: In Connecticut we have The Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. It is amazing to walk through and learn about history. This book was great to read because it is about a young Indian boy that wants to prove that he is a man. He can do this by joining the Horse Raid, but his father refuses to let him. With the help of his grandfather he finds a way to join his dad in the raid. The book has beautiful pictures and the story was interesting for my niece and I to both read. This is a great coming of age book! Wisdom Tales are great as a company and their stories always have extra insights. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.