Keepers of the Animals: Native American Stories and Wildlife Activities for Children

Customer Reviews:

Incredibly insightful!.......2007-10-08

I discovered the "Keepers" series two years ago. At first I was unsure of the format, and it took me a while to appreciate all the activities, but now they are the foundation in my homeschool curriculum. The stories and activities are suitable for a wide range of ages so that they may be used for years with the same child. There is so much depth and insight to all of the Keepers books that it is a compliment to any style of homeschool. For naturalists, home schoolers, un-schoolers, classical educators or public schools - these books are absolutely a must for every child living in North America! I can't say enough about these books.

Keepers Series.......2000-10-24

Joseph Bruchac is a natural stort teller. This whole series is wonderful. I have used these books with children from the ages of four through fourteen. But of all of them the cassette of The Keepers of the Animals is my favorite and the only one that I cannot keep because I am continually giving it away. It is not only the quality of Bruchac's voice but also the cadence that he brings to the telling that adds a resonance, a native rhthym to the stories, that enhances understanding. This is the way that these stories should be told and should be heard. Native American culture has a rich oral tradition and the sounds, the rhthyms of the language are an important part of the telling of a story. We may not have the sounds of the language per se except in the names but we can hear a little of the native cadence in Bruchac's delivery. These are wonderful tapes for small children and again this is my very favorite.

Bringing Native Stories to Life.......2000-07-20

I've been lucky enough to see Michael Caduto perform theseNative stories in person. He brings Native beliefs to life inunexpected and delightful ways. The stories he and Josheph Bruchac have put together here do the same thing. They give young readers a chance to explore Native cultures while they learn and enjoy the stories! In addition to Native tales, this book provides factual information and activities on nature and animals. It's an outstanding resource for teachers, parents, and kids of all ages.

Average customer rating:

Excellent photos, but text lack substance
Great photographs and more.

Caribou: Wanderer of the Tundra

Manufacturer: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1558685243

Book Description

"Caribou: Wanderer of the Tundra" captures this regal, elusive animal in the stunning photos and words of noted wildlife photographer and author Tom Walker.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent photos, but text lack substance.......2004-11-11

This book is a remarkable photo journal about the caribou.

I purchased the book as there are few texts dedicated to this stunning animal of the north. In the end, I was somewhat disappointed in my purchase. The book is a dazzling compilation of photos of caribou. People used to viewing whitetail deer photos in books and magazines may not appreciate the photos. While this book is short and it seems there are not a lot of pictures, the pictures in the book are splendid. Due to the nomadic nature of caribou and the amount of ground they cover, it would not surprise me if it took a decade to get all the photos to put this 80 page book together.

While I could never express the beauty of the pictures in this book, I was disappointed in the text in the book. I was hoping for some details about the life and habits of caribou. The book does discuss the general life of caribou a little bit, but most of the text is a collection of short stories about event the author/photographer saw to describe the accompanying photos in the book. The stories were okay and were a decent accompaniment to the photos, it just wasn't what I was looking for. This book is a quick read. I was able to get through the entire book in about 2 hours (and I am a slow reader).

The book is filled with top-notch photos of scene few of us will be lucky enough to see in our lifetime. If you are looking for pictures of caribou, this is the book for you. If you are looking for detailed text on the life, habits, and movements of caribou, I would try another book.

Great photographs and more........2000-09-17

Tom Walker makes terrific nature photographs and this book has a lot of them, but this is not just a picture book. The author adds natural history information and his personal observations to create images that are more than visual. One is left with a feeling for a wild and lonely land and the place of the caribou in it. This is a good introduction to the natural history of these fascinating animals.

As the Indians left it;: The story of the Chattanooga Audubon Society and its Elise Chapin Wildlife Sanctuary

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As the Indians left it;: The story of the Chattanooga Audubon Society and its Elise Chapin Wildlife Sanctuary
Robert Sparks Walker
Manufacturer: G.C. Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007J2UJS

Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent

Average customer rating:

Gorgeous and highly informative book on Indian and regional wildlife
Beautiful book
A splendid showcase of Indian wildlife
great with amazing photos
The perfect accompaniment to the video.

Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent
Valmik Thapar
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0520214706

Amazon.com

In this companion volume to the BBC/PBS television series, Indian biologist Valmik Thapar, a specialist on tigers, takes a leisurely look at the extraordinary animals that inhabit the subcontinent, among them serpent eagles and kiangs, water monitors and one-horned rhinoceroses, cobras and bustards. Although India and the adjoining countries are crowded with humans, and although wildlife-protection laws are a recent development there, animal life continues to thrive; the diversity of flora and fauna, Thapar writes, are the richest in the world. He attributes this uncommon variety of species to religious beliefs that accord the living world an uncommon respect and reverence. Anyone planning a visit to India will benefit from this lively book, as will those who are merely curious.

Book Description

The extraordinarily diverse Indian subcontinent covers a vast area extending from Pakistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east and stretching north to the Himalayan kingdoms of Bhutan and Nepal. Marked by dramatic extremes of climate and terrain, it is home to black bears, snow leopards, elephants, and flying lizards, and it is the only place in the world where both lions and tigers reside.
After a lifetime devoted to the study and conservation of the tiger, Valmik Thapar turns his attention to the plants and animals that share the tiger's domain. How have so many species survived on such a crowded continent, where twenty percent of the world's population exerts intense pressure on the environment? Thapar links the region's tremendous diversity to the reverence shown to nature by Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. But fifty years after India's independence, modern and urban values are seriously eroding the subcontinent's ecosystems.
Thapar's careful natural history is enriched by his personal anecdotes and musings on spirituality and culture. His own reverence for the wildlife and landscape he encounters and his brilliant photographs make this book an enthralling read, and it is also a moving argument for more vigilant nature conservation on the Indian subcontinent.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous and highly informative book on Indian and regional wildlife .......2006-06-16

_Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent_ by Valmik Thapar is a beautiful coffee table type book that I originally bought for its gorgeous full color photos of Indian wildlife and natural landscapes but ended up reading its fairly extensive text (and was glad I did so). Written to accompany a PBS television series (which unfortunately I have not seen), it is a great non-specialist introduction to the wildlife of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and Bangladesh.

The introduction noted the very rich biodiversity of the subcontinent (2000 fish species, 1200 bird species, and 340 mammal species for instance) and focused on why wildlife has done as well as it has in a region of 1.2 billion people. Despite the growing influx of Western television and consumerism, religion and its respect for many wild animals remains a powerful force, particularly among rural areas and especially among the Hindu population of India and the Buddhist population of Nepal. One particular group, the Jainists, have such a high regard for life that its members are against harming insects and cutting down trees (one Jainist sect, the Bishnoi of the Thar Desert, which Thapar detailed in a later chapter, even celebrate the martyrdom of some if its members years ago in an effort to save a grove of trees). Sacred groves are maintained throughout the subcontinent (which provide vital wildlife habitat), worship of tigers, elephants, monkeys, snakes, and peacocks (which Thapar provided some very interesting details on) have played a large role in their conservation, and many local communities have worked hard to protect local animals from poachers and have tolerated their consumption of some of their crops or livestock so great is their reverence for some species.

The second chapter explored the fauna of the icy mountains and arid plateaus of the Himalayas. The many melt-water fed bogs, marshes, and lakes of the region provide refuge for many migratory species such as the bar-headed goose and other waterfowl, while the region boasts year-round residents like the lammergeyer or bearded vulture, two species of crow-like birds called choughs (both species of which have been observed on the peak of Mount Everest), and several pheasant species such as the chir pheasant and western tragopan. Other animals discussed were Himalayan brown and black bears, yak, black-necked cranes, snow leopards, bharal or blue sheep (favorite prey of snow leopards, taxonomically according to some experts somewhere between sheep and goats), Himalayan ibexes, Himalayan tahr (a mountain goat), musk deer, kiang or Tibetan wild ass, leopards, Tibetan wolves, dholes or Indian wild dogs, Himalayan lynxes, and the tiger (a recent arrival). In the lush forests of the lower, eastern Himalaya one can find many orchid species, satyr tragopans, blood pheasants, red pandas, and the golden langur.

Chapter three was titled "Sacred Waters" and covered life in the great Indian rivers, river valleys, and flood plains. One of the most fertile of these areas is the terai, a 60 kilometer-wide flat marshy strip that stretches 1,600 kilometers across the Gangetic plain in northern India and parts of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, home to tigers, elephants, swamp deer, Indian rhinos, marsh crocodiles or muggers, and many other species. Highlights include coverage of India's seven stork and nine eagle species, the migratory fish known as the mahseer, the black soft-shelled turtle (a sacred species, known only from one location, a shrine in Bangladesh), Gangetic freshwater dolphins, the gharial (a species of crocodilian, the male is distinguished by a growth called a ghara on the tip of its snout, which in Hindi means "earthen pot"), and hog and swamp deer (which cannot graze in areas where the grass grows too high and are dependent upon such animals as elephants, rhinos, and wild buffalo for opening up the terrain).

Chapter four was on the wildlife of the sea, coasts, and nearby islands and focused in particular on sea turtles, flamingos, the interesting Andamanese and Nicobarese island peoples (the latter group believes that their ultimate ancestors were a man and a female dog), sea snakes, dugongs, the megapode (a bird species that uses the heat of decaying vegetation in mounds it creates to incubate its eggs), various monitor species (one of which, the water monitor, is known to lay its eggs in megapode nests), various crab species, and the Bombay duck, a member of the salmon family and a major food fish on India's western coast.

The next chapter examined desert wildlife. Very interesting to me were the black buck (a very fast herbivore that evolved to evade the now locally extinct cheetah, this species has a prominent place in Hindu mythology), the chinkara or Indian gazelle, the caracal (or "gazelle cat," which like the cheetah was once trained to hunt), and the Gir lion.

The following chapter was titled "Wet Forests" and covered the evergreen forests of India, which annually get drenched by the monsoon. A wonderful chapter, this section covered sacred groves called kavu; the shola (patches of montane evergreen forest, interspersed with open grassland, a naturally occurred feature); flying frogs, lizards, and snakes; the fascinating life cycles of the fig wasp and the hornbill; as well as lion-tail macaques, Nilgiri langurs, Malabar giant squirrels, Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiri martens (all found in the wet forest of the Western Ghats) and the hoolock gibbon, clouded leopard, golden cat, and binturong (found in the very wet forests of northeastern India).

The final chapter analyzed the life habits of the tiger and its associated fauna, both in the drier, desert-edge environs of Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan and the moist bamboo forests of Madhya Pradesh - "Kipling Country," land of the _Jungle Books_. In addition to lots of information on tigers, the author covered sloth bears, gaur or giant ox, the sambar (largest of the Asiatic deer), nilgai or blue cow (India's largest antelope), cobras, peacocks, and elephants.

The epilogue was brief and basically general comments by the author on the troubled future of the region's wildlife.

Beautiful book.......2005-10-05

Very attractive coffee-table edition. Marvelous photos of wildlife and habitats. Engaging text.

A splendid showcase of Indian wildlife.......2003-08-26

I first saw the television series and then moved on to the book. Both the book as well as the series are a very good showcase of the diversity and beauty of indian wildlife ... the book is not about the tiger, unlike what some might mistake ... its truly about the land of the tiger - its forests, its climate, animals, birds, trees, and people.

The photographs are excellent - this is a good overview for both the tourist as well as the enthusiast.

great with amazing photos.......2000-08-10

A great book for anyone who loves the wildlife of the indian subcontinent.

The perfect accompaniment to the video........1999-09-26

This book has some of the best photography I have ever seen. It is an in detail look at the various wildlife of India. From the magnificent tiger to the crocodiles and birds that inhabit the vast natural habitats of this wonderous sub-continent. No one would believe that India was so beautiful. But most of all it takes and in depth look at the one true King of the Asian Jungle- the mighty tiger. And who better to write about them than the tiger guru Valmik Thapar. It is WELL worth the read but get the video first.

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An Outdoor Guide to Bartram's Travels
Charles D. Spornick , Alan R. Cattier , and Robert J. Greene
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Travel | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Essays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0820324388

Book Description

From 1773 to 1777, naturalist William Bartram journeyed through the American South from the Carolinas to Florida to the Mississippi River. Bartram's classic account, Travels, documents what he saw: a world of flora, fauna, cultures, and terrains unknown to most readers of his time--and, we too often assume, lost to us today.

An Outdoor Guide to Bartram's Travels reconstructs as closely as possible the original routes Bartram took. Featuring some fifty thoroughly tested and researched tours, the guide takes today's outdoor enthusiasts and history buffs along Bartram's path through what were once colonial towns and outposts, native kingdoms, and unspoiled wilderness. Some tours can be taken by car or bicycle; others can be taken only as Bartram himself would have traveled--on foot, by canoe, or on horseback. The tours are supplemented with more than 140 maps and photographs as well as informative sidebars and listings of nearby points of interest.

As the guide points out details of both the natural and manmade environments to be seen along each tour, it imparts an understanding of the forces at work on the landscape. Visitors to Paynes Prairie in north central Florida, for instance, are urged to notice not only networks of manmade dikes built in the last century but also evidence of current efforts to dismantle them and let the wetlands again manage itself.

At one level, the guide is an invitation into the past, to travel along with Bartram as he visits the lands of the American colonists, the Creek, the Seminole, and the Cherokee--all on the eve of the American Revolution. At another level, it is an invitation to the present: to see how the some parts of the American Southeast have changed in the last two centuries while others have survived in all their wild splendor. From the mountain grandeur of the Blue Ridge to the coastal beauty of Cumberland Island, from the formal gardens of Charleston to the False River plantations near the Mississippi River, the present answers the past in An Outdoor Guide to Bartram's Travels.

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Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison (Bison Original)
Ken Zontek
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Native American | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Reindeer Moon: Reindeer Moon

The Sacred Monkeys of Bali

The Pawprints of History: Dogs and the Course of Human Events

The Reindeer People: Living With Animals and Spirits in Siberia

Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Indians

ASIN: 0803299222

Book Description

The gruesome story of the devastation of buffalo herds in the late nineteenth century has become uncomfortably familiar. A less familiar story, but a hopeful one for the future, is Ken Zontek’s account of Native peoples’ efforts to repopulate the Plains with a healthy, viable bison population. Interspersing scientific hypothesis with Native oral traditions and interviews, Buffalo Nation provides a brief history of bison and human interaction from the Paleolithic era to present preservation efforts.

Zontek’s history of bison restoration efforts is also a history of North American Native peoples’ pursuit of political and cultural autonomy, revealing how Native peoples’ ability to help the bison has fluctuated with their overall struggle. Beginning in the 1870s, Native North Americans established captive bison breeding programs despite the Wounded Knee Massacre and a massive onslaught on Native cultural and religious practices. These preservation efforts were so successful that a significant percentage of bison today carry the bloodlines of these original Native-sponsored herds. At the end of the twentieth century, more than fifty tribes banded together to form the Intertribal Bison Cooperative. This group has made significant progress in restoring bison herds in the United States, while Canadian First Nations work with national parks and other government entities to select and manage free-ranging herds.

Buffalo Nation offers insights into the ways that the Native North American effort to restore the buffalo nation inspires discourse in cultural perseverance, environmentalism, politics, regionalism, spirituality, and the very essence of human-animal interaction.

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Monarch of the Plains
Some very nice pictures, not a lot of information
Outstanding photography

Bison: Monarch of the Plains
Linda M Hasselstrom
Manufacturer: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Wildlife | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1558684069

Book Description

Fitzgerald's powerful photos and Hasselstrom's inspiring text present this awesome beast in its ancient and contemporary grandeur.

Customer Reviews:

Monarch of the Plains.......2007-06-27

This is a beautiful book, very well done. The photos in it are excellent. We give this book out to our Speakers at conferences. It is a great coffee table book.

Some very nice pictures, not a lot of information.......2005-03-16

I found this book to be interesting, with a lot of nice pictures, but sort of short on information. It's 128 pages long, many of them full page photos (which no doubt cut down the number of possible information pages)and is divided into several sections. Much of the book is done from a sort of American Indian perspective telling of their traditions and uses, conflicts with the white man. Later on you get some stuff on the buffalo hunting period, that's also interesting if not entirely error free (in one place the dates are given as 1934 and 1947, that should be 18, not 19. They also call buffalo rifles .50 caliber when one photo clearly shows mention of other calibers).
Apparently a huge number of animals were killed even in the early pre- 1870's years.
The last part of the book tells of efforts to save the remainders of the great herds and how that's worked out as well as hopes for the future.
I'd liked to have had much more information (there are notes & a reading list at books end)but did really appreciate the large selection of photographs, most of them modern but some historical, that included not only the buffalo but some of the things made from or related to them. This is the real reason to buy the book.

Outstanding photography.......2001-12-16

If you love the Great Plains and have a heart for the prairie, this book will delight you. The photography in here is outstanding. After working with buffalo earlier this year, this was a book I had to get. Some of the photos, including the cover photo, bring not only the sights but also the smells and sounds of the giant herds to mind. These photos are worth more than 1,000 words... because they speak to my prairie heart.

They Came from the Bronx: How the Buffalo Were Saved from Extinction

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One of my Favorite Kids Books
THE MOTHER LOAD FROM THE MOTHER HERD
A Lesson in Protecting Our Planet's Creatures
A Must read for 4th,5th,and,6th graders

They Came from the Bronx: How the Buffalo Were Saved from Extinction
Neil Waldman
Manufacturer: Boyds Mills Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1563978911

Customer Reviews:

One of my Favorite Kids Books.......2006-03-24

I have been reading this to our reading buddy class of third graders now for a few years... I first read it at our local library and choked up. It is good for lots of academic reasons but is also engaging and has an unusual style and amazing illustrations.

THE MOTHER LOAD FROM THE MOTHER HERD.......2003-10-31

No other animal represents the American frontier like the American Bison. To Native Americans he was a spirit messenger, sacred to their very existence. To them and frontiersmen alike the thundering, shaggy beasts represented food, clothing, shelter and fuel. And in a larger sense the massive herds represented the spirit of freedom in a new and untouched land.

In They Came from the Bronx, Neil Waldman recounts the fascinating tale of how this quintessential American animal was brought back from extinction.

Waldman speaks of the Bronx Zoo's "Mother Herd," and his curiosity as a child with the name. How could a captive herd of bison in the largest American metropolis, so far from the wide-open spaces of the Great Plains, claim such a title?

Waldman's story weaves an eloquent account beginning in Oklahoma, stepping back to New York City in the early Nineteen hundreds, offers historical facts about the bison's prairie reign and then it's back to Oklahoma where a Comanche grandmother and her grandson await a most improbable reunion.

They Came from the Bronx is technically a children's book but will appeal to children of all ages, from one to ninety-three, if you will. Beautifully illustrated and written, the book speaks volumes about the tragedy of man's irresponsible exploitation of wildlife but also offers a ray of hope that once mistakes are made and recognized, if we are careful and responsible, they can and should be rectified.

Douglas McAllister

A Lesson in Protecting Our Planet's Creatures.......2003-08-04

I first read this book in a gift shop at the San Diego Zoo. The message is even more potent because the story is true. This book is the well-done, beautifully illustrated story of bringing the American Buffalo back from the brink of extinction. The story is engaging without being "preachy." There's a lesson for the future here, too. As a third grade teacher, I'm planning on using this book in the classroom to reinforce the idea that human beings share the planet with other living creatures.

A Must read for 4th,5th,and,6th graders.......2001-08-15

I loved the poignant conversation between the old woman and her grandson. Her explanation of the disappearance of the buffalo builds to a very dramatic climax, that make us realize the seriousness of our country's past decisions. I reccommend this highly to anyone who cares about our past and future!

Wildlife Watching With Charles Eastman (Naturalist's Apprentice Biographies)

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Wildlife Watching With Charles Eastman (Naturalist's Apprentice Biographies)
Michael Elsohn Ross
Manufacturer: Carolrhoda Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Bug Watching With Charles Henry Turner (Naturalist's Apprentice Biographies)

ASIN: 1575050048

Mountain in the Clouds: A Search for the Wild Salmon

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Wild Salmon of the Northwest

Mountain in the Clouds: A Search for the Wild Salmon
Bruce Brown
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Wildlife | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0295974753

Customer Reviews:

Wild Salmon of the Northwest.......2001-07-14

Experience wild salmon leaping up the wild rivers of the Northwest. In western Washington, salmon still return from the ocean to spawn deep within the Olympic Mountains. This book is a classic on conservation and wildlife. Pre-dating the current concern for salmonids as an endangered species, Brown engages the reader in the unique environment of the temperate rainforest of the Olympic Pennisula. He describes the people and the fish that are the central players in this life and death drama.

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