School Library Journal

Gr 1-6--This picture-book biography recounts the boyhood of a real Lakota Sioux named Slow, who grew up in the 1830s. Today's children of any background can empathize with his efforts to outgrow his childhood name and take his place as an adult among his people. The illustrations, oils that are rich and somber, convey details of traditional Lakota life, from the warm, close interiors of the family home to a pre-dawn assembly of warriors about to raid their Crow neighbors. The text creates an equally subtle portrayal of Plains Indian life. Many stereotypes of Native American culture are gently corrected, as when the author acknowledges that ``women are the heart of the nation.'' The traditional Lakota explanation for the advent of horses is given alongside mention of their historical introduction by European explorers. Dialogue in the Native language helps to convey the richness of the culture. By the time Slow earns his new name, young readers will feel they know a real person--the man who was to become Sitting Bull, one of the great Sioux warriors and a hero at the Battle of Little Bighorn. This book works beautifully as historical fiction; it is less successful as biography as none of the dialogue is documented. An inspiring story.--Carolyn Polese, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1995)

A sensitive and respectful coming-of-age story that explains how a boy called Slow becomes a great warrior, performing a brave deed that earns him the special name of Sitting Bull. The atmospheric, dramatic paintings evoke a sense of timelessness and distance. They possess, in an almost mythic quality that befits this glimpse into the history of culture that has radically changed between Sitting Bull's time and our own.

ALA Booklist (Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 1995)

Being named Slow and growing up in the shadow of a great warrior hardly dwarfed the prospects of this protagonist: he grew up to be Sitting Bull. Bruchac's sensitively told history of Sitting Bull's coming-of-age reassures young boys that success comes through effort, not birth. Slow, named for his sluggishness as a baby, yearns for a strong name like his father's, Returns Again to Strike the Enemy. As he grows, Slow tries to do his best in everything--hunting, riding, wrestling--and by 14 he is strong and ready to attend his first raid. To everyone's surprise, he races ahead of the war party to attack the Crows, who quickly flee. Proudly, Slow's father renames him Sitting Bull. In brilliant counterpoint to the story's emotional timelessness is Baviera's vision of the Lakotas as spiritually and culturally distant from us. His dark acrylics punctuated by the unexpected pastels of diminished sunlight--purple snow, turquoise smoke, orange skies--is at once mythic and melancholy in its portrayal of a vanished culture. (Reviewed Mar. 15, 1995)