Many Nations: An Alphabet of Native America - Softcover

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children's book author, poet, novelist, and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. His novels include CODE BREAKER, THE JOURNAL OF JESSE SMOKE, NIGHT WINGS, DRAGON CASTLE, and WOLF MARK; among many others. He also coauthored the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series, with Michael Caduto. Bruchac's poems, articles, and stories have appeared in many prestigious publications. He lives in the foothills of the Adirondacks.

I grew up in the small town of Greenfield Center, New York, which is in the foothills of the Adirondacks not far from the city of Saratoga Springs. It is a place I love, close to the forests and the mountains.

I was raised by my grandparents, who had a little general store. My grandmother, Marion Dunham Bowman, was a graduate ofAlbany Law School. Although she never did practice law, she kept the house filled with books. It's because of her that I wasalways reading.

My grandfather, Jesse Bowman, was of Abenaki Indian descent. He could barely read and write, but I remember him as oneof the kindest people I ever knew. I followed him everywhere. He showed me how to walk quietly in the woods and how tofish. He told me that his father never spanked him, but would only talk to him when he misbehaved. He raised me in the sameway.

I loved my grandparents' little general store. I helped out as much as I could, ringing up purchases on the cash register andwashing customers' cars and windows. In the fall and winter, I would sit around the wood stove and listen to the local farmersand lumberjacks tell tall tales. One of those men was Lawrence Older. When I grew up, he taught me the songs and stories heknew about the Adirondacks.