About This Book

As in his other acclaimed pictorial histories, Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman brings a lost world vividly to life for young readers. In accessible text full of fascinating details, he describes the importance of the buffalo to the way of life of the Great Plains Indians, paying particular attention to their various hunting methods, and the uses found for each part of the animal. He then moves on to the devastation caused by the gradual encroachment of white settlers, whose ferocious, firearm slaughter of the animals brought the species to near-extinction.

In stunning complement to his informative commentary, Freedman has selected artwork from museums around the country. The carefully chosen, elegantly reproduced paintings and drawings were all done by artists who traveled through the Great Plains in the 1800s, such as George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, Albert Bierstadt, and Charles Russell. A photograph of a robe by a Crow artist is also included. A thrilling read and a valuable resource, this powerful evocation of a people, a culture, and an environment belongs on every classroom shelf.