Pickup trucks and eagles, yellow school buses and painted horses, Mother Earth and Sister Meadowlark all join together to greet the dawn. They marvel at the colours and sounds, smells and memories that dawn creates. Animals and humans alike turn their faces upwards and gaze as the sun makes its daily journey from horizon to horizon. Dawn is a time to celebrate with a smiling heart, to start a new day in the right way, excited for what might come. Birds sing and dance, children rush to learn, dewdrops glisten from leaves, and gradually the sun warms us. Each time the sun starts a new circle, we can start again as well. All these things are part of the Lakota way, a means of living in balance. S. D. Nelson offers young readers wonder and happiness as a better way of appreciating their culture and surroundings. He draws inspiration from traditional stories to create Greet the Dawn. His artwork fuses elements of modern with traditional. Above all, he urges each of us to seize the opportunity that dawn offers each day.

 

This book was recognised in the Illustrator category by the Moonbeam Children's Book Award.

There are 48 pages in this book. This book was published 2012 by South Dakota State Historical Society .

S. D. Nelson is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in the Dakotas. He is the author of two previous children's books Fluid in Both Narrative and Illustrations and An Exemplary Offering. Nelson lives in Arizona, USA.