At the mountain's base

Select an Action

Title:

At the mountain's base

Author:

Sorell, Traci, author.

Alvitre, Weshoyot, illustrator.

Summary:

"At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war."-- Amazon.com.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 30 cm

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Cherokee women -- Juvenile fiction.

Indian women air pilots -- Juvenile fiction.

Indian families -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Women air pilots -- Juvenile fiction.

Cherokee Indians -- Juvenile fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Indian -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Alvitre, Weshoyot,

Publisher:

Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House,

Publication Date:

2019

ISBN:

9780735230606

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House, [2019]

Call Number:

P SORELL

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003440735	Picture Books	SORELL	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A family, separated by duty and distance, waits for a loved one to return home in this lyrical picture book celebrating the bonds of a Cherokee family and the bravery of history-making women pilots.

At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war.

With an author's note that pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat, this is a story that reveals the roots that ground us, the dreams that help us soar, and the people and traditions that hold us up.

Author Notes

Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction books, as well as poems for children. Her debut nonfiction picture book, We Are Grateful- Otsaliheliga (Charlesbridge Publishing) is a Junior Library Guild selection. Traci is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma where her tribe is located.

Weshoyot Alvitre is a comic book artist and illustrator. She's most recently worked as art director for the video game When Rivers Were Trails and illustrator on the graphic novel Redrawing History with the Library Company of Philadelphia. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including the Eisner Award for Little Nemo- Dream Another Dream and Prism Award for Hummingbird Boys in Moonshot Volume 2. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and two children.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3--A military family awaits the return of their loved one in this lyrical tribute to modern warrior women. At the mountain's base, beneath a hickory tree, sits a cabin, and inside, next to a cozy stove, a grandmother weaves and prays, surrounded by family members singing. Within their song, a pilot flies into danger seeking peace, and Sorell's simple yet poetic text circles back to the family in the cabin, huddled together, "waiting for her return." Individual color strands woven throughout Alvitre's watercolor and ink illustrations come together to form a striking tapestry encircling the cabin, linking its inhabitants to the pilot. Generous white space and colorful frames focus attention on the connections between the human figures. An afterword summarizes the achievements of Indigenous women in the armed forces and briefly mentions the career of Ola Mildred Rexroat, an Oglala Lakota pilot and member of the WASPs in World War II. VERDICT Accessible to a wide range of young audiences and military families, this picture book is also a unique and specific recognition of the strength and courage of Indigenous women. A first-purchase for any library.--Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

Publisher's Weekly Review

In an author's note, Sorell (We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga), who is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, explains that Native women have served in the U.S. Armed Forces "at proportionately higher rates than all other Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard Servicemembers." In this lullaby-like poem, she imagines the Cherokee family of one such woman. The lines join with an incantatory rhythm: "At the mountain's base/ grows a hickory tree. Beneath this sits a cabin./ In that cabin" a grandmother weaves with help from younger women and a small girl. The women, "tending and singing," praise a missing family member: a WWII military pilot flying a combat mission. Alvitre (Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream), who is Tongva/Scots-Gaelic, paints her in her cockpit above the clouds as her thoughts circle back to her family: "Within that pilot/ forms a prayer,/ pleading for peace./ Because at the mountain's base,/ beneath the hickory tree" awaits her beloved family. High above, with flowing hair and outstretched arms, the figure of a larger-than-life entity watches over the family and the pilot. Sorell honors an Oglala Lakota pilot and holds up her courage in this expansive, intimate picture book. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)