Pushing Up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children - Hardcover

by Joseph Bruchac (Author), Teresa Flavin (Illustrator)

From acclaimed Native American storyteller Joseph Bruchac comes a collection of seven lively plays for children to perform, each one adapted from a different traditional Native tale. Filled with heroes and tricksters, comedy and drama, these entertaining plays are a wonderful way to bring Native cultures to life for young people. Each play has multiple parts that can be adjusted to suit the size of a particular group and includes simple, informative suggestions for props, scenery, and costumes that children can help to create. Introductory notes and beautiful, detailed illustrations add to young readers' understanding of the seven Native nations whose traditions have inspired the plays.

Front Jacket

Filled with heroes and tricksters, comedy and drama, Native American tales have entertained children from their ancient origins in the oral tradition to the present day. Now renowned Native storyteller Joseph Bruchac has adapted seven traditional tales from Native peoples around North America as delightful plays for children themselves to perform. Each play has multiple parts that can be adjusted to suit the size of a particular group, and includes simple suggestions for props, scenery, and costumes that children can help to create. From "Gluskabe and Old Man Winter", a battle of wits between an Abenaki hero and the frosty ruler of the Winter Land, to "The Strongest One", a Zuni tale that offers a dazzling procession of characters, children are sure to enjoy presenting these lively pieces. Introductory notes and Teresa Flavin's beautiful, detailed illustrations add to young people's understanding of the seven Native nations whose traditions have inspired the plays.

Back Jacket

Gluskabe and Old Man Winter Abenaki

Star Sisters Ojibway

Possum's Tail Cherokee

Wihio's Duck Dance Cheyenne

Pushing Up the Sky Snohomish

The Cannibal Monster Tlingit

The Strongest One Zuni

Author Biography

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed children's book author, poet, novelist and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. Coauthor with Michael Caduto of the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series, Bruchac's poems, articles and stories have appeared in hundreds of publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored many books for adults and children including Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, Skeleton Man, and The Heart of a Chief. For more information about Joseph, please visit his website www.josephbruchac.com.