Unlike most books that chronicle the history of Native peoples beginning with the arrival of Europeans in 1492, this book goes back to the Ice Age to give young readers a glimpse of what life was like pre-contact. The title, Turtle Island, refers to a Native myth that explains how North and Central America were formed on the back of a turtle. Based on archeological finds and scientific research, we now have a clearer picture of how the Indigenous people lived. Using that knowledge, the authors take the reader back as far as 14,000 years ago to imagine moments in time. A wide variety of topics are featured, from the animals that came and disappeared over time, to what people ate, how they expressed themselves through art, and how they adapted to their surroundings. The importance of story-telling among the Native peoples is always present to shed light on how they explained their world. The end of the book takes us to modern times when the story of the Native peoples is both tragic and hopeful.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 116 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2017 by Annick Press Ltd .

Eldon Yellowhorn is a professor of archaeology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, Canada. Kathy Lowinger has written three books with Annick Press. Her previous works include the award-winning Give Me Wings, which tells the story of Ella Sheppard and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and Shifting Sands: Life in the Times of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. She is the former publisher of Tundra Books. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

This book has the following chapters: A Glimpse into the Past The Beginning: Turtle Island Chapter 1: Finding Our Way to the Past Chapter 2: North America in the Days of Ice Chapter 3: Listening to the Land Chapter 4: Ideas Spread Chapter 5: Change-Makers Chapter 6: First Contact Chapter 7: In the Year 1491 Chapter 8: After the End of the World Chapter 9: Healing the Circle Selected Sources Further Reading Image Credits Index