Teresa R. Peterson

When Psipsicadaŋ Wiciŋyaŋna - the eponymous Grasshopper Girl - feels ill one day, the young Dakota girl is sent to bed by her Ina, or mother. Bored and restless, she longs for her Ate (father) to come and tell her a story. He does just that, relating a tale of Unktomi, the trickster of Dakota/Lakota tradition, and how he got stuck inside a buffalo skull one day, until he was eventually released by a great fall. Entertained and comforted, Psipsi falls asleep, thinking that Unktomi should have heeded the warnings he was given...

Published by the Minnesota-based Black Bears & Blueberries Publishing, a Native-owned non-profit press, Grasshopper Girl is a debut from Dakota author Teresa R. Peterson, who based the story on the childhood experiences of her mother and her mother's sisters, who heard Unktomi stories from their father, when they themselves were ill. The story is engaging, and I appreciated both the "real world" tale of Psipsi and her loving family, and the inset folkloric tale of Unktomi, a trickster figure whose Lakota name, Iktomi, is more familiar to me, thanks to the picture-book retellings of Paul Goble. The accompanying artwork here from Lakota illustrator Jordan Rodgers, who also worked on another Black Bears & Buleberries title, Heather Brink's Rez Dog, is done in a cute cartoon-like style, and is quite expressive. All in all, this was quite enjoyable, and is one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for stories about Native American families and traditions, or featuring Dakota folklore. The inclusion of Dakota vocabulary, and a glossary at the rear, is a particularly nice feature!… (más)