Bruchac, Joseph. 1994. A boy called slow. Illustrated by Rocco Baviera. New York: Philomel books. ISBN: 0-399-22692-3.
A boy called slow by Joseph Bruchac is the story of how the famous Lakota warrior Sitting Bull received his adult name. In the Lakota Sioux culture in which he (Sitting Bull) was born, children were given names based on the way they acted. When they grew up, they earned their adult names. Their adult names reflected their new status within their community, and they were often earned in battle. Sitting Bull's childhood name was slon-he or Slow. As it is easy to imagine, Slow was unhappy with his name. As Bruchac so humorously points out, no one wanted to be known as "Hungry Mouth" or "Curly" or "Runny Nose" or "Slow" all his life(10). The book continues by describing his childhood; the lessons he learned from his family and community. These lessons point out which things were important within the culture�learning to hunt, riding, protecting the tribe, sharing, the importance of being both brave and wise, etc. He finally gets the chance to prove himself when he goes to battle with the Crow. His brave actions lead the war party to success without loss. His father then bestows on him a new name: Tatan'ka Iyota'ke or Sitting Bull.
The book is set in the 1830's-1850's. (From his birth to when he was a young man ready to go into battle. The birth date is given; the subsequent math is my own.) The Native American tribes depicted are the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota Sioux and the Crow. The story is biographical, but limited to his early life. The story deals specifically with the importance of names within the culture. One's name reflected one's character and behavior. The story is rich in cultural details. For example, the native language (assumably of the Lakota Sioux) is interwoven with English. Many times both the Native American name and the English translation of that name are provided to the reader in the text. In addition to proper names, other important words (in the native language) appear throughout the text. For example, tiyospaye means extended family; wasicun means white man. The use of another language adds authenticity to the text. Bruchac provides the reader a detailed picture of this culture in this book.
The illustrations in A boy called slow are done by Rocco Baviera. The colors used throughout the book are dark and expressive. (Browns, greys, purples, blacks, greens, blues, etc.) They help set the mood and tone of the book. Many of the scenes depicted occur at night. Another recurring image that appears throughout the book is horse(s). The feeling one gets is that this is the type of story one would hear at night by the fire. (But again, that's only my impression; I don't know if that was the intent.) But there is definitely a storytelling element in the text (and the pictures.)
I would definitely recommend this book. It makes me definitely want to read other books by Bruchac. The other book I read by Bruchac is The First Strawberries. I loved that book as well. (I love strawberries.) That book presents a retelling of a Cherokee legend on how strawberries were created. I recommend both books wholeheartedly.
Culture Four focuses on Native American literature for children and young adults. Readings for this culture include: