Jim Thorpe's Bright Path

by Joseph Bruchac, S. D. Nelson (Illustrator)

Overview

A biography of the legendary Native American Jim Thorpe (1888—1953), voted the Greatest Football Player and Greatest Athlete of the Half-Century by two AP polls, focusing on his early childhood and how school and sports shaped his future.

From the day he was born, Jim Thorpe's parents knew he was special. As the light shone on the road to the family's cabin, his mother gave Jim another name - Wa-tho-huck - "Bright Path."

Jim's athletic skills were evident early on, as he played outdoors and hunted with his father and twin brother. When the boys were sent to Indian boarding school, Jim struggled in academics but excelled in sports. Jim moved from school to school over the years, overcoming family tragedies, until his athletic genius was recognized by Coach Pop Warner at the Carlisle Indian School.

From the award-winning team of Joseph Bruchac and S. D. Nelson comes an inspiring biography of the young person behind the world-renowned athlete. Thorpe's story of determination and perseverance will resonate with every child who dreams of finding his or her own bright path.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600603402
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	12/04/2004
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	305,008
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD870L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 11 Years

About the Author

Joseph Bruchac, a citizen of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, is the author of more than 100 books for children and teens, including multiple picture books published by Lee & Low Books, and the young adult Killer of Enemies trilogy, which received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. A Rockefeller Fellow and an NEA Poetry Writing Fellow, Bruchac has received numerous recognitions and awards over his long-standing career. In addition to writing, Bruchac is an editor at Greenfield Review Press, a literary publishing house he co-founded with his wife. He lives in Greenfield Center, New York. To find out more about him, visit josephbruchac.com.

S.D. Nelson is an award-winning illustrator, whose work includes Lee & Low's Crazy Horse's Vision, Jim Thorpe's Bright Path, and Quiet Hero. He is also the author and illustrator of many picture book stories inspired by the traditions of his Lakota heritage—including Gift Horse, winner of the Parents' Choice Award, and The Star People, an Oppenheim Gold Award winner. A former middle school art teacher, Nelson is now a full-time artist whose paintings are held in both private and public collections. He is of Lakota (Sioux) descent and lives with his wife in Chandler, Arizona. Visit him online at sdnelson.net.

Editorial Reviews

"The creators of Crazy Horse's Vision (2000) offer another inspiring American portrait, again focusing on their subject's youth and extraordinary accomplishments. . . Finished with a career recap, plus a discussion of the long effort to restore Thorpe's confiscated medals. . . young readers in need of a role model could hardly do better." — Kirkus Reviews

"Jim Thorpe's Bright Path does a masterful job of showing readers both the tough challenges and the persistent spirit of Jim Thorpe." — Mamiverse

Best of the Best Books - Chicago Public Library
CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Carter G. Woodson Award - National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
Teachers' Choices - International Literacy Association (ILA)

From the Publisher

New titles give informed views of talented Native American figures. Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac, illus. by S.D. Nelson, is a historical picture-book portrayal of the legendary Olympian and all-American athlete. Bouncing between boarding schools, young Jim never finds academics as compelling as sports. Yet despite the deaths of his twin brother, mother and father over an eight-year period, Thorpe thrives at Carlisle Indian School, his feats there just the beginning of a life filled with athletic success. An author's note and timeline highlight important events in Thorpe's adulthood. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1-4-Thorpe, who was named "Wa-tho-huck," or "Bright Path," by his Pottowatomie mother, spent a childhood marked by remarkable physical prowess until he was sent to an Indian boarding school at age six. He lost his twin brother (pneumonia), his mother ("sudden illness"), and his father (snakebite), but persevered, finally proving himself on the Carlisle Indian School football field in his teens. Bruchac ends this picture-book biography here. He sticks to the facts, occasionally employing bits of dialogue. He includes details about the unfair treatment of Native Americans, such as the mandatory Indian boarding schools that had unsanitary living conditions and educated students only to be maids and laborers. The theme of overcoming personal and societal obstacles to reach success is strongly expressed. The author keeps his subject linked to his heritage; for example, referring to Thorpe's speed and endurance as skills that had enabled his American Indian ancestors to provide for their families. Unfortunately, Nelson's acrylic illustrations are not as successful as the writing. The human bodies are stiff, with hands and feet that would be at home on wooden marionettes. Athletes appear frozen rather than moving fluidly. An author's note and a chronology, both illustrated with small black-and-white photos, sketch the rest of Thorpe's life.-Liza Graybill, Worcester Public Library, MA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

The creators of Crazy Horse's Vision (2000) offer another inspiring American portrait, again focusing on their subject's youth and extraordinary accomplishments. Dubbed Wa-tho-huck ("Bright Path") by his Pottowatomie mother, Thorpe attended several Indian Schools, struggling with academics but finding his path in sports, and emerging as the 20th century's most widely gifted-though only arguably "most dominant," as Bruchac claims-athlete. Nelson switches to a less-stylized, mystical look for the illustrations, depicting Thorpe growing from lad to burly manhood, chasing down a jackrabbit, standing downcast at lonely or sad moments, dashing past rival runners or football players as he flashes a faint, restrained smile. Finished with a career recap, plus a discussion of the long effort to restore Thorpe's confiscated Olympic medals, this doesn't make the most comprehensive, or searching, profile-but young readers in need of a role model could hardly do better. (lengthy author's notes, chronology, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews