The Legend of the Bluebonnet
by Tomie dePaola

book summary, lesson/activity ideas,
a peek inside, and more

The Legend of the Bluebonnet retells an old Texas tale about an unselfish young girl who loved the people of her Native American tribe so much that she sacrificed the most precious thing she had to help end the drought. Young She-Who-Is-Alone had lost her entire family to the drought that was

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plaguing the Comanche people. All she had to remember them by was a

special doll that her parents had made for her. When the shaman said that the Great Spirits were angry with the selfishness of the people and would end the drought if the people would sacrifice their most valued possessions, the people hestitated. "I'm sure it's not my new bow that the Great Spirits want... Or my special blanket." Only little She-Who-Is- Alone was willing to make the sacrifice to help her people. She snuck away at night, built a small fire, sacrificed her doll, and sent the ashes off in the wind. When she woke up the next morning, the once parched countrysude was covered with blue

flowers and the rain began to fall. The people recognized her sacrifice and from then on, she was known as One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.

Teachers:
An author's note at the back talks about the real legend, Mr. dePaola's process for uncovering the legend and writing this book, and some interesting additional facts about the Comanche people. If you are looking for related activities & lesson ideas to go with this book, please click here: The Legend of the Bluebonnet lesson ideas, etc

Book Details

Reading Stats
Interest Level: K-Gr.2 DRA Level: 38
Reading Level: age 4-8 Lexile Measure: 740L

Topics Covered
Folktakes (Lang Arts---Genres)
Native American cultures (Geography/History)

Awards & Rating
Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
American Bookseller Pick of the List Book
Nat'l Cncl for Soc. Studies Notable Children Book
Avg Customer Rating: 4.5 stars

(14 reviews)

Peek Inside
Here is a spread from inside this book. My, oh my, how we love Tomie dePaola's books! In this spread, little She-Who-Is-Alone sets off at night to make the tremendous sacrifice that has been asked of each member of the tribe in order to stop the terrible drought.

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