Pictures tell the story of how a ballgame between the birds and mammals of the earth gave some common animals their characteristics. Includes text and suggestions for storytelling activities in the back of the book.
A classic folktale with roots in the traditional stories of many Indigenous peoples in North America, The Great Ball Game is adapted for today's kids by Rebecca Sheir, host of the award-winning Circle Round podcast. The stunning art of Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, an Ojibwe woodland artist, along with creative activities, make this an engaging picture book that also fosters storytelling and promotes the values of diversity, acceptance, and understanding of others.
On deck and ready for your reading lineup, New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies’s ode to “batty” baseball fans. You think humans are the only ones who enjoy America’s national pastime? Grab your bat—the other kind—and your mitt, because it’s a whole new ballgame when evening falls and bats come fluttering from the rafters to watch their all-stars compete. Get set to be transported to the right-side-up and upside-down world of bats at play, as imagined and illustrated by bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies. Hurry up! Come one—come all! We’re off to watch the bats play ball!
The Animals and Birds are getting ready for the big game. Bat wants to WIN. The Animals look strong and fast, so Bat picks that side. But when the Animals fall behind, Bat switches to the Bird team—doesn't a bat have wings? Maybe the Birds will win!
Anetso, a centuries-old Cherokee ball game still played today, is a vigorous, sometimes violent activity that rewards speed, strength, and agility. At the same time, it is the focus of several linked ritual activities. Is it a sport? Is it a religious ritual? Could it possibly be both? Why has it lasted so long, surviving through centuries of upheaval and change? Based on his work in the field and in the archives, Michael J. Zogry argues that members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation continue to perform selected aspects of their cultural identity by engaging in anetso, itself the hub of an extended ceremonial complex, or cycle. A precursor to lacrosse, anetso appears in all manner of Cherokee cultural narratives and has figured prominently in the written accounts of non-Cherokee observers for almost three hundred years. The anetso ceremonial complex incorporates a variety of activities which, taken together, complicate standard scholarly distinctions such as game versus ritual, public display versus private performance, and tradition versus innovation. Zogry's examination provides a striking opportunity for rethinking the understanding of ritual and performance as well as their relationship to cultural identity. It also offers a sharp reappraisal of scholarly discourse on the Cherokee religious system, with particular focus on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation.