Beverley Fahey (Children's Literature)
The tragic story of the forced removal of the Navajo from their sacred land is told with compassion and honesty. Storyteller Joseph Bruchac begins his riveting narrative within a story circle, one that is broken by a raid led by Col. Kit Carson. With no escape, the Indians surrender to be taken to a faraway place called Bosque Redondo, described as "a barren place in the salt flats of eastern New Mexico." Historical background that led to this event is carefully detailed, recounting the harsh treatment and broken treaties. With restraint and a straightforward style, Bruchac tells of the 470-mile march through inclement weather with scant food, and Indians "nearly naked...and dying from dysentery." Throughout the account Bruchac examines the role played by key figures such as Narbono, the old warrior, sympathetic Indian agent Henry Dodge, and the zealous General Carleton. As a project, Bosque Rondondo was a failure and in 1868, the Navajo signed "the first fair treaty" with the U.S. government and were permitted to return to their homeland--Dinetah. Told with drama, tension, conflict, and with a positive resolution the author gives dimension to "one of the greatest and least known injustices in American history." Shonto Begay has created extraordinary paintings using acrylics on clay board. They have an emotional intensity and eloquence. 2002, National Geographic Society, $18.95. Ages 10 to 14.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March 2002 (Vol. 55, No. 7))
In the 1860s, thousands of Navajo were forced to relocate from their sacred land in western New Mexico to the Bosque Redondo Reservation hundreds of miles to the east; the story of that relocation is recounted here through text fiercely sympathetic to the Indians’ plight and through a gallery of metaphor-rich paintings rendered in powerful jabs and swirls of densely applied acrylics. Bruchac and Begay’s intensely personal bond of empathy with the Navajo victims is manifested in their emotionally charged prose and picture captioning: “Carson’s armies were cutting through the heart of Dinetah like a sharp blade through corn. All of the Navajos’ old enemies were against them. There was no place to hide”; “I can feel the cold chill in the bones of these battered and subdued people living on the brink of nonexistence.” This passion alone, however, cannot entirely satisfy readers who may desire a contextually longer view of cultural collision or require more background than underexplained references such as “The United States had just fought a one-sided war with Mexico,” or “the Dine Ana’i, or Enemy Navajos . . . were led by an ambitious, intelligent, and ruthless Navajo man named Antonio Sandoval.” No source notes or list to guide further reading are provided, and direct quotes are uncited. This therefore falls short as history, but it will still serve as a compelling look at a piece of America’s past. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2002, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2002, National Geographic, 48p, $18.95. Grades 5-8.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2002)
Beginning with the Diné creation story, Bruchac traces relations between the Diné and whites through the Long Walk, the starvation in the settlement camp, and the fairer treaty that followed. Although the subject has inherent impact, Bruchac’s treatment is mostly one-sided and pedantic. Rather than let his impressionistic acrylics speak for themselves, Begay adds heavy-handed captions. No sources are listed. Category: Nonfiction-History. 2002, National, 48pp, $18.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 5: Marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.