Danny Blackgoat, Navajo Prisoner

by Tim Tingle (Author)

Danny Blackgoat, Navajo Prisoner
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Series: Pathfinders
Set in troubled times during the Navajo Long Walk of 1864, Danny Blackgoat is the story of one boy's hunger to be free and be Navajo.
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School Library Journal

Gr 6-10--The true story of the 1864 Navajo imprisonment and forced migration is told through the eyes of fictional 16-year-old Danny Blackgoat. Union soldiers capture him and his family along with numerous other Navajo families, destroying their homes and livestock before marching them through the desert at gunpoint. Oklahoma Choctaw storyteller Tingle never flinches from recounting the soldiers' cruelty, from withholding water and food to shooting an elderly man in the back. Danny is separated from his family and taken to a camp of Confederate prisoners, where he immediately makes one friend and one enemy from among the white prisoners. The villainous antagonist makes several attempts on the boy's life while the saintly friend nurtures him, teaches him English, and helps him escape. Throughout his episodic trials and tribulations, Danny's character reads more like a folk hero or legend than an individual, three-dimensional teen. The story is aimed at hi/lo readers, and the short, staccato sentences and unornamented prose make this a fast read-but perhaps too fast, as many threads are left dangling. While the history recounted here is important, this brief novel may raise more questions than it answers.--Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Tingle, a Choctaw storyteller, spins a good yarn and, along with other respectful references to Navajo culture, ingeniously leverages its particular aversion to mention of or contact with the dead to magnify the terror of Danny's climactic challenge...A positive tribute to the fortitude of Danny and his Navajo community."— (06/15/2013)
Tim Tingle

Tim Tingle is an Oklahoma Choctaw, an award-winning storyteller, and the author of more than twenty books for children, teenagers, and adults. His titles have been recognized by the American Indian Youth Literature Award four times and nominated for numerous state awards. He received his master's degree from the University of Oklahoma with a focus in American Indian Studies. Tingle lives in Texas. Visit his website at timtingle.com.

Jeanne Rorex Bridges traces her heritage back to Cherokee ancestors. Her work is nationally known and has won many awards in Native American art shows, including the 2005 Best of Show at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. Crossing Bok Chitto is her first children's book, for which she was named Oklahoma Illustrator of the Year in 2007. She lives in eastern Oklahoma, and you can find her website at rorexbridgesstudio.com.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781939053039
Lexile Measure
550
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
7th Generation
Publication date
August 01, 2013
Series
Pathfinders
BISAC categories
YAF046150 - Young Adult Fiction | People & Places | United States - Native American
YAF058190 - Young Adult Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
YAF024150 - Young Adult Fiction | Historical | United States - 19th Century
Library of Congress categories
Indians of North America
Conduct of life
Bullying
Texas
Bullies
Prisoners
Navajo Indians
Navajo Long Walk, 1863-1867
Fort Davis National Historic Site (Tex.)
Independent Publisher Book Awards
Bronze Medal Winner 2014 - 2014
American Indian Youth Literature Award
Honor Book 2014 - 2014
Land of Enchantment Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2016

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