New Release Books by Joseph Bruchac

With a bang—or rather, a barrage—Jacob Neptune finds his remote cabin in the Adirondacks besieged by a gun-toting gang of murderous bikers. With the help of his supersized sidekick Dennis, the hard-headed, wise-cracking Abenaki private detective traces the source of his troubles to a former adversary who is now running an Indian casino. In short order, the friends are drawn into a dangerous mystery that will call upon all of Jake’s skills as a martial arts expert, former special forces soldier, and—in the Abenaki tradition—a metoulin, one who can see beneath the surface of things through dreams and visions. Their investigation takes them to the Pacific Northwest, dead center in a vicious game involving tribal intrigue, a crooked casino, Chinese billions, a captive killer whale—and a series of murders and disappearances that may be linked to the monster known by Jake’s people as Padoskoks, the giant underwater serpent. Like Chenoo, the first in the Jacob Neptune series, Padoskoks has an explosive start and keeps gathering speed, giving readers a glimpse of the ancient wisdom and Native customs swirling just under the surface as the action-packed plot barrels toward its natural, if startling, conclusion.

A twelve-year-old Iroquois boy searches for peace in this historical novel based on the creation of the Iroquois Confederacy. Twelve-year-old Okwaho''s life has suddenly changed. While he and his best friend are out hunting, his friend is kidnapped by men from a neighboring tribal nation, and Okwaho barely escapes. Everyone in his village fears more raids and killings: The Five Nations of the Iroquois have been at war with one another for far too long, and no one can remember what it was like to live in peace. Okwaho is so angry that he wants to seek revenge for his friend, but before he can retaliate, a visitor with a message of peace comes to him in the woods. The Peacemaker shares his lesson tales—stories that make Okwaho believe that this man can convince the leaders of the five fighting nations to set down their weapons. So many others agree with him. Can all of them come together to form the Iroquois Great League of Peace?

"Twelve-year-old Malian lives with her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic"--

The Papago Indians of the American Southwest say butterflies were created to gladden the hearts of children and chase away thoughts of aging and death. How the Butterflies Came to Be is one of twenty-four Native American tales included in Native American Animal Stories. The stories, coming from Mohawk, Hopi, Yaqui, Haida and other cultures, demonstrate the power of animals in Native American traditions.Parents, teachers and children will delight in lovingly told stories about "our relations, the animals." The stories come to life through magical illustrations by Mohawk artists John Kahionhes Fadden and David Fadden."The stories in this book present some of the basic perspectives that Native North American parents, aunts and uncles use to teach the young. They are phrased in terms that modern youngsters can understand and appreciate ... They enable us to understand that while birds and animals appear to be similar in thought processes to humans, that is simply the way we represent them in our stories. But other creatures do have thought processes, emotions, personal relationships...We must carefully ccord these other creatures the respect that they deserve and the right to live

Jamie and Marie Longbow''s reputation for solving mysteries is getting around. They are at another Powwow when a man named Lester Laughing, dressed in full regalia, approach them with a treasure map and ask them to solve a mystery. Jamie and Marie follow the clues hoping to find treasure but what they find out in the end is more surprising than the treasure itself.

It''s a dark night. Wolf Cub feels lonely and sad. Can she overcome her fear and find her voice to sing for Grandmother Moon?

A teenage survival expert finds all his skills tested as he’s pursued through the Canadian wilderness by men determined to silence him. On his way to teach at Camp Seven Generations, a Native outdoor school, Nick witnesses a murder and then is thrown off a train. Remembering and using the teachings of his Abenaki elders will prove to be the difference between life and death for him. Although his pursuers have modern technology to help them, Nick has something even more useful. In addition to the skills he’s learned, he has an ally in the natural world around him. Found, like the famous story “The Most Dangerous Game,” is a tale that focuses on being hunted until a way can be found to become the hunter.

In A Peacemaker for Warring Nations, renowned Native author Joseph Bruchac draws from the teachings of both contemporary and past Iroquois tradition bearers in telling the story of how "the Peacemaker," a divine messenger sent by the Creator, helped to bring an end to the bitter warring of the Five Iroquois Nations and how he founded the famed League of the Iroquois, which was later to influence the US Constitution.

When Jamie and Marie Longbow find out about the mysterious ghost dog that steals food from the Powwow and no one has been able to catch, they are determined to find out what''s going on. When they finally get closer to it, it runs into the spooky abandoned house--with a buffalo burger dangling from its mouth--where Old Man Jimmerson used to live. Is it really a ghost dog? Should they go in? How are they going to solve this mystery when they are terrified of what might be on the other side of the door?

Among the towering fir trees of the Pacific Northwest, a famously elusive creature is in serious trouble. All Elliot wants is a nice, normal day at school. All Uchenna wants is an adventure. Guess whose wish comes true? Professor Fauna whisks the kids—and Jersey, of course—off to the Muckleshoot territory in Washington, where film crews have suddenly descended en masse to expose Bigfoot to the world, and the Schmoke logging company is bringing in some awfully large machinery. Can the Unicorn Rescue Society escape the blades of the Schmokes’ chain saws? Outsmart a cable news team? And are those big, hairy creatures running through the forest really Bigfoot?

A boy discovers his Native American heritage in this Depression-era tale of identity and friendship by the author of Code Talker It''s 1932, and twelve-year-old Cal Black and his Pop have been riding the rails for years after losing their farm in the Great Depression. Cal likes being a "knight of the road" with Pop, even if they''re broke. But then Pop has to go to Washington, DC--some of his fellow veterans are marching for their government checks, and Pop wants to make sure he gets his due--and Cal can''t go with him. So Pop tells Cal something he never knew before: Pop is actually a Creek Indian, which means Cal is too. And Pop has decided to send Cal to a government boarding school for Native Americans in Oklahoma called the Challagi School. At school, the other Creek boys quickly take Cal under their wings. Even in the harsh, miserable conditions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school, he begins to learn about his people''s history and heritage. He learns their language and customs. And most of all, he learns how to find strength in a group of friends who have nothing beyond each other.

As a young Navajo boy, Chester Nez had to leave the reservation and attend boarding school, where he was taught that his native language and culture were useless. But Chester refused to give up his heritage. Years later, during World War II, Chester—and other Navajo men like him—was recruited by the US Marines to use the Navajo language to create an unbreakable military code. Suddenly the language he had been told to forget was needed to fight a war. This powerful picture book biography contains backmatter including a timeline and a portion of the Navajo code, and also depicts the life of an original Navajo code talker while capturing the importance of heritage.

"This production offers an engaging, original way for children to learn about a Native American hero. Renowned Abenaki author Bruchac has selected interesting facts that reveal how a young boy is transformed into brave Crazy Horse. ..." AudioFile Magazine

Children''s book icon Joseph Bruchac tells the fascinating story of a Seneca (Iroquois) Civil War officer Ely S. Parker (1828-1895) is one of the most unique but little-known figures in US history. A member of the Seneca (Iroquois) Nation, Parker was an attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. Raised on a reservation but schooled at a Catholic institution, he learned English at a young age and became an interpreter for his people. During the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel and was the primary draftsman of the terms of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. He eventually became President Grant''s Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. Award-winning children''s book author and Native American scholar Joseph Bruchac provides an expertly researched, intimate look at a man who achieved great success in two worlds yet was caught between them. Includes archival photos, maps, endnotes, bibliography, and timeline.

This spine-tingling middle grade collection brings together Skeleton Man and The Return of Skeleton Man—two modern classics that will chill you to the bone. R.L. Stine, bestselling author of the Goosebumps series, raved: “This book gave me nightmares!” Molly’s father grew up on the Mohawk Reserve of Akwesasne, where he learned the best scary stories. One of her favorites was the legend of Skeleton Man, a gruesome tale about a man with a deadly, insatiable hunger. But ever since her parents mysteriously vanished, those spooky tales have started to feel all too real. And things go from bad to worse for Molly when a stranger shows up one day and claims to be her great-uncle. A ghostly thin man she’s never seen before. A man who reminds her an awful lot of the Skeleton Man. But he couldn’t possibly be the same person from her father’s tale . . . could he? It’s up to Molly to uncover the truth about this fearsome figure and rescue her parents before it’s too late. This 2-in-1 collection is perfect for fans of R.L. Stine, Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters series, Holly Black’s Doll Bones, and any young reader who loves a good thrill.

"The story of Sequoyah and the creation of the Cherokee syllabary, as told by his thirteen year old son"--

Follow Travis Hawk on a cross-country trek as he escapes a world of brutality and uncertainty and puts his trust, and even his very life, in the hands of total strangers. Travis''s story is one of struggle, survival, risk and resilience, navigating a solo journey of hundreds of miles to seek a safe haven far from the demons of his past.

Jacob Neptune, a wise-cracking, two-fisted Penacook private investigator with a checkered past, lives in upstate New York—four hundred miles from his tribal community on Abenaki Island. Then one night the phone rings. “We . . . got . . . trouble,” Neptune’s cousin Dennis says from the other end. And trouble is where it all starts in this brilliant, often hilarious novel by acclaimed Abenaki storyteller Joseph Bruchac. Attacked by bikers before he can even board his plane, Neptune—“Podjo” to his friends—quickly begins to realize just how much trouble surrounds his people’s ancestral home. Guided by his sense of duty to his homeland, he agrees to help protect Dennis and other Penacooks as they stage a takeover of a state campground on land that should have reverted to their tribe. But encroaching developers, government operators, and even fellow Penacooks eager to build a casino each pose a threat to the Abenaki lands—and all have reasons to want Neptune out of the picture. Podjo greets each challenge with self-deprecating humor—but it’s difficult to shake his increasingly disturbing dreams, and an unsettled feeling when his return leads to a reunion with a long-ago love interest. As he and Dennis contend with hired guns, police, and security, a far greater threat appears: someone, or something, is brutally killing people in the woods. It will take all of Neptune’s skills as a martial artist and the wisdom gained from tribal elders to battle the forces that threaten the sacred land—and his and his people’s lives. Bruchac ratchets the tension from the first page to the last in this detective novel that pairs comedy and action with serious consideration of corporate greed, environmental destruction, cultural erosion, and other modern-day issues pressing Native peoples.

A captivating and historical story of two young men on opposing sides of war. In 1874, the U.S. Army sent troops to subdue and move the Native Americans of the southern plains to reservations. Brothers of the Buffalo follows Private Washington Vance Jr., an African-American calvaryman, and Wolf, a Cheyenne warrior, during the brief and brutal war that followed. Filled with action and suspense from both sides of the battle, this is a tale of conflict and unlikely friendship in the Wild West.

Viewed through the eyes of a 16-year-old Navajo youth, "Code Talker" is a fascinating slice of World War II history by a much-respected and acclaimed author.

This work of historical fiction is based on the true, inspiring story of the early education of Seneca leader Ely Parker. Hasanoanda was his Indian name, but in mission school he became “Ely.” Despite the racism and deceit he faced, he never gave up his mission to receive an education that would enable him to aid the Seneca people in their quest to keep their land. As a young person, he learned how to live in the world of the white man, but never forgot his Seneca roots. Also included is an afterword that highlights the careers and achievements of Ely Parker’s adult life.

Twins Jamie and Marie Longbow are excited about summer with their grandparents, traveling from powwow to powwow selling goods they helped to make. When their grandmother''s most beautiful necklace goes missing, it''s up to the twins to solve the mystery. Using her knowledge of birds learned from a book she is currently reading, Marie suspects she knows the culprit. Jamie, using his climbing skills, locates the missing necklace, along with lots of other shiny objects, in a crow''s nest.

This entry in the innovative "Story" line of chapter-book biographies focuses on Jim Thorpe, an exceptional athlete with natural talent and the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.

Walking Coyote placed his cheek against the frightened buffalo calf''s side and sang softly. Lone survivor of a herd slaughtered by white hunters, the calf was one of several buffalo orphans Walking Coyote had adopted and was raising on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. For thousands of years massive herds of buffalo roamed across much of North America, but by the 1870s fewer than fifteen hundred animals remained. Hunted to the brink of extinction, the buffalo would have vanished if not for the diligent care of Walking Coyote and his family. Here is the inspiring story of the first efforts to save the buffalo, an animal sacred to Native Americans and a powerful symbol of the American west. From the foresight and dedication of individuals like Walking Coyote came the eventual survival of these majestic animals, one of the great success stories of endangered species rescue in United States history.

In 1838, settlers moving west forced the great Cherokee Nation, and their chief John Ross, to leave their home land and travel 1,200 miles to Oklahoma. An epic story of friendship, war, hope, and betrayal.

Fatherless Cody LeBeau is an American Indian boy who is starting high school with the usual trepidation. He fits into none of the cliques at the new school, but somehow keeps being noticed anyway—and is often teased because of his tendency to stutter. Then his Uncle Pat, an accomplished martial arts sensei, moves into the town and becomes the one who shows Cody "the way" through the maze of adolescent doubt and into manhood.

Purely fiction, these stories tell the tales of athletes in a variety of sports, including track, football, martial arts, Ping Pong, fishing, and dirt bike riding.

TWO RIVERS is a collaboration that reflects not only our two generations of father and son, but also the flow of language from two different yet deeply connected cultures. The relationships between the European newcomers to the northeast and the Algonquin-speaking first peoples began at least five centuries ago. Poems in both the English and Abenaki language.

Through poems that capture the essence of each person''s life, acclaimed Native American writer Joseph Bruchac introduces readers to famous indigenous leaders from The Peacemaker in 1000 A.D. to modern day dancer Maria Tallchief and Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller. Each poem is illustrated by a modern-day tribally enrolled artist.