The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman by: Paul Goble

Bibliography:
Goble, Paul. 1998. The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0792270746
Plot Summary:
Long ago, the Great Spirit made it rain and flood and all of the people except one "were swept away and drowned." The Eagle of the Sky saved one young woman and the two married. The woman gave birth to twins and people had a new beginning. After many generations, the sad and frightening times of war came and the people fled to the great open plains. As a group is searching for buffalo, a strange and beautiful woman appears carrying a bundle on her back. She orders one of the men to tell his leader that she has something important for him, to erect a council tipi, and for everyone to gather there at dawn the next day. She comes to the meeting carrying a red pipe and singing a song. She announces that the Great Spirit told her Buffalo People to send her and for her to give them the pipe. They are to pray with the pipe and the pipe will join nations and famiies together in love and peace. As she is leaving everyone is amazed to see that she turns into a white buffalo calf and joins buffaloes that have come to surround the camp. The red stone used to make the pipes comes from the earth where the buffalo make their pathways. "Tradition tells that the red stone is the flesh and blood of the people who drowned at the end of the Old World."
Critical Analysis:
Although not Native American himself, Goble's research is thorough and his depiction of the Plains Indian culture is accurate. His illustrations are undoubtedly breathtaking and some of the best in all of children's literature. The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman is one of the most important of all Lakota sacred legends and Goble supplements the legend with facts and background information. The story, like many traditional stories, covers years and years in the matter of sentences. The reader travels from the end of the old world on one page, to the birth of a nation on the next, to the times of war and then the appearance of the buffalo woman. This quick passing of time is true to the oral tellings of the story and reads well aloud.
Review Excerpt(s):
Booklist: "Goble fans, young and old, will enjoy the details in the clothing and landscape."
Kirkus Reviews: "Goble's stylized figures seem appropriately larger than life, and the Lakota prayers and comments he quotes further enhance the reverant tone."
Connections:
Paul Goble is a renowned writer and illustrator of children's picture books about the Plains Indian culture. Read more of his books such as The Girl who Loved Wild Horses, The Gift of the Sacred Dog, or one of his nonfiction books such as Tipi: Home of the Nomadic Buffalo Hunters.