THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE BUFFALO WOMAN
by Paul Goble & illustrated by Paul Goble
Goble (The Return of the Buffaloes, 1996, etc.) prefaces the story of the first pipe, “the most important of all Lakota sacred legends,” with a Great Flood legend, then appends an account of the meaning attached to the pipe and its parts, along with a finely detailed drawing of a pipe in his possession. In a time of troubles, a mysterious woman comes walking across the prairie. The first man she meets tries to rape her and is blasted into bones; the second she sends as a messenger, so that the people are ready when she presents to them the Sacred Calf Pipe. After her transformation into a white buffalo calf, the buffalo has one more gift, the red stone that is still an integral element of all traditional pipes. Drawn just above ground level and clad in spectacular ceremonial costume, Goble’s stylized figures seem appropriately larger than life, and the Lakota prayers and comments he quotes further enhance the reverent tone. (Picture book/folklore. 7-11)