Chief Jake Swamp (Tekaronianeken) was a founder of the Tree of Peace Society, an international organization promoting peace and conservation. Chief Swamp delivered the Thanksgiving Address throughout the world, as well as at the United Nations. He was born on the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York, and lived in Hogansburg, NY where he worked as a cultural adviser for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne's Child and Family Services. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message was his first picture book. He passed away in October 2010.
Erwin Printup is a Cayuga/Tuscarora painter who received a degree in fine arts from the Institute of American Indian Art, in Santa Fe, NM. Born in Niagara Falls, he now lives in Lewiston, NY. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message is his first picture book.
"Swamp has made the [Thanksgiving] address accessible to all ages
without hindering its easy reverence. . . A simple, tender
celebration of good fortune." -- Kirkus Reviews "The flat planes
and saturated colors of Printup's highly stylized acrylic paintings
form a handsome backdrop to this ancient Iroquois message of
thanksgiving, adapted for children by a chief of the Mohawk nation.
A salute to Mother Earth and all her beauty, the "good morning
message" is traditionally delivered at the beginning of each day
and at special ceremonies. Its simple, timeless language bears
witness to the Native American reverence for the natural world and
sense of unity with all living things. . . Eye-catching." --
Publishers Weekly "A powerful way of acknowledging the
connectedness of the whole universe, this salute to Mother Nature
is reverent and simple, filled with phrases that acknowledge our
privilege and bounty to be human in this great world. . . The
richness of the earth is colorfully depicted." -- The Children's
Book ReviewReading Rainbow Selection - PBS KidsBest Children's
Books of the Year - Bank Street College of Education
CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Editors' Choice - Booklist
K-Gr 3‘Drawing on Six Nation (Iroquois) ceremonial tradition, the text speaks concise thanks to Mother Earth, to water, grass fruits, animals, to the wind and rain, sun, moon and stars, to the Spirit Protectors of our past and present, ``for showing us ways to live in peace and harmony,'' and to the Great Spirit, giver of all. The simplicity and familiarity of the message do not diminish the moving effect of the lengthening catalog of blessings. At first glance, the art, while colorful and very legible, seems overly conventional; closer inspection, however, reveals an interesting use of pattern in the faces of both humans and animals, variation between distant landscape and close-up still-life composition, and a satisfying buildup of momentum to the dramatic, fire-lit night scene of the final invocation to the spirits. The entire text is reproduced in Mohawk on the last page (without a pronunciation guide, alas). A brief prefatory note makes the very valuable suggestion that the giving of thanks should be a daily, rather than a rare, activity. This book is not just for the ``Native American shelf'': its contribution is more inspirational than ethnographic.‘Patricia (Dooley) Lothrop Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
"Swamp has made the [Thanksgiving] address accessible to all ages without hindering its easy reverence. . . A simple, tender celebration of good fortune." -- Kirkus Reviews
"The flat planes and saturated colors of Printup's highly stylized acrylic paintings form a handsome backdrop to this ancient Iroquois message of thanksgiving, adapted for children by a chief of the Mohawk nation. A salute to Mother Earth and all her beauty, the "good morning message" is traditionally delivered at the beginning of each day and at special ceremonies. Its simple, timeless language bears witness to the Native American reverence for the natural world and sense of unity with all living things. . . Eye-catching." -- Publishers Weekly
"A powerful way of acknowledging the connectedness of the
whole universe, this salute to Mother Nature is reverent and
simple, filled with phrases that acknowledge our privilege and
bounty to be human in this great world. . . The richness of the
earth is colorfully depicted." -- Children's Book ReviewReading
Rainbow Selection, PBS Kids
Editor's Choice, Booklist
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
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