UF Transnational and Global Studies Teacher Workshop III “Nomadic Cultures” Resource List February 14, 2007 This is a sampling of multi-media resources related to the general themes of today. Grade levels [Elementary: K-4; Intermediate: 5-8; Secondary: 9-12] are approximations only and do not consider purpose, readers’ background knowledge, reading proficiency, etc. For the approximations that include two levels (i.e. Intermediate-Secondary), the higher grade levels are implied for the first listing. The book annotations were comprised by multiple sources. Please contact Jennifer Graff at [email protected] if you would like more resources regarding a particular topic or have any questions regarding the following resource list. African Continent 1. Burns, Khephra. (2001). Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co. This picture book provides a fictional account of the nomadic wanderings of the boy who grew up to become Mali's great fourteenth-century leader, Mansa Musa. (Elementary+) 2. Giraud, Herve. (2005). Leila: A Tuareg Child. Farmington Hills, MI: Blackbirch. Living on the African continent, the Tuareg are a nomadic people that span many countries but share a common language and history, and are known to wear indigo- dyed cloth. By following Leila's with her family as they move camp, readers explore the life of the Tuaregs in the Sahara Desert. (Elementary) 3. Halliburton, Warren J. (1992). Nomads of the Sahara (Africa Today series). NY: Crestwood House. This collection of non-fiction books for intermediate readers describes the history, culture, and daily life of the four nomadic groups that make their homes in the Sahara Desert. (Intermediate) 4. Kessler, Cristina. (1995). One Night: A Story from the Desert. New York: Philomel Books. When one of his goats gives birth, Muhamad spends the night alone in the desert and thus becomes a man in the eyes of his family. Schoenherr's artwork is striking, with vivid double-spreads contrasting the brightness of the sun on the yellow sand with the peacefulness of the desert under the moon, Kessler based Muhamad on a young boy of the same name she met while spending time with the Tuareg, a people who, she explains, are now threatened because of their nomadic ways. (Elementary) 1 5. Kessler, Cristina. (2004). Our Secret, Siri Aang. NY: Philomel Books. Namelok, a Maasai girl, tries to persuade her traditionalist father to delay her initiation and marriage because they will restrict her freedom and keep her from the black rhino mother and baby she is protecting from poachers. (Elementary- Intermediate) 6. Lekuton, Joseph. (2003). Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savannah. Washington, DC: National Geographic. In this memoir, Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives children a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers around the raising and grazing of cattle. (Intermediate+) 7. London, Jonathan. (1997). Ali, Child of the Desert. NY: Lothrop. Illustrated by Ted Lewin, this eye-catching picture book showcases the shifting colors of sand and sky in the Sahara Desert, where young Ali becomes separated from his father's camel herd by a sudden sandstorm. A “gracefully woven picture of life” for nomadic desert dwellers takes shape as Ali waits for his father to find him at the camp of a Berber goatherd and his grandson. (Elementary-Intermediate) 8. Margolies, Barbara A. (1994). Olbalbal: A day in Maasailand. NY: Four Winds Press. Through attractive, full-color photographs and a clear, readable text, Margolies describes life in a Maasai village in rural Tanzania. She explores a number of topics, including the land and its climate, hunting, houses, food, an average child's day as represented by the boy Kisululu, spirituality, and the life cycle of a Maasai male. Although the author does not dwell on the hardships facing the Maasai, she does describe the perils posed by wild animals and, in a caption of a photo of Kisululu and his friend, she mentions diseases that sometimes afflict the children. That said, there appears to be more information to males than females in the body of the text. (Elementary) 9. Reynolds, Jan. (2007). Sahara: Vanishing Cultures. NY: Lee & Low Books. "Describes the way of life of the Tuaregs, a nomadic culture that presently exists in the Sahara, the world's largest desert" (Elementary) 10. Temple, Frances (1996). The Beduins’ Gazelle. NY: Orchard Books. The sequel to The Ramsay Scallop, this novel details how in the Muslim year of 680 (1302 based on a Christian calendar), two cousins of the nomadic Beni Khalid tribe who are betrothed become separated by political intrigue between warring tribes. (Secondary) 2 ASIA 11. Banting, Erinn. (2003). Afghanistan. The People. (The Lands, Peoples, and Cultures series). NY: Crabtree Publishing. This non-fiction book explores how the history, climate, geography, ethnology, wars, and religion of Afghanistan have shaped the customs and practices of modern daily life in the mountains, deserts, and cities. (Intermediate-Secondary) 12. Berger, Barbara Helen. (2002). All the Way to Lhasa: A Tale from Tibet. NY: Philomel Books. Based on a story told to the author by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, this picture book details how a boy and his yak persevere along the difficult way to the holy city of Lhasa and succeed where others fail. (Elementary) 13. Brown, Don. (2002). Far beyond the Garden Gate: Alexandra David-Neel’s Journey to Lhasa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. This picture book describes the life and travels of Alexandra David-Neel, who became a scholar of Buddhism and Tibet in the early twentieth century and trekked thousands of miles to reach Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. (Elementary-Intermediate) 14. Clayton, Sally Pomme. (2005). Tales Told in Tents: Stories from Central Asia. London: Francis-Lincoln. This is a picture-book collection of 12 traditional stories from the nomadic cultures of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, etc). (Intermediate-Secondary) 15. Dolphin, Laurie. (1997). Our Journey from Tibet: Based on a True Story. NY: Dutton Books. This picture book follows the dangerous journey of three young sisters from their home in a Tibet occupied by the Chinese to a new life in India, where they can freely learn about their religion and culture. (Elementary) 16. Knowlton, MaryLee. (2006). Turkmenistan. NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. In 1991 Turkmenistan emerged from the wreckage of the once powerful Soviet Union to establish itself as an independent nation. Now, fifteen years after claiming their independence, the people of Turkmenistan continue to face a broad range of difficulties that test their capacity to remain a functioning nation. In this book, youngsters are introduced to the people, places, and things of this newly born nation. However, despite the fact that Turkmenistan is a relative newcomer in the panoply of the world’s nations, the people of this Central Asian land have a long heritage. For centuries the Turkmen people lived along the Silk Road and led lives that featured migratory patterns and nomadic lifestyles. (Elementary) 3 17. McKay, Lawrence. (1995). Caravan. NY; Lee & Low Books. A ten-year-old boy accompanies his father for the first time on a caravan trip through the mountains of Afghanistan to the city below where they will trade their goods at market. (Elementary) 18. Pachen, Ani & Donnelley, Adelaide (2002). Sorrow Mountain: The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun. Kodansha International. Born in 1933 as the only child of a Tibetan village chieftain in the eastern province of Kham, Pachen refused an arranged marriage in hope of leading a monastic life. As Chinese troops hardened their grip on Tibet in 1958, she assumed her father's role upon his death, helping to lead the Tibetan resistance until her capture by the Chinese in 1960. Released in 1980, Pachen describes her experiences and passions regarding Tibet and the Chinese. (Secondary+) 19. Reynolds, Jan. (2007). Mongolia: Vanishing Cultures. NY: Lee & Low Books. Originally published in 1994, this story involves two nomadic Mongolian children listening to stories of the past from their father and yearning for their own horses, creatures essential to their way of life. (Elementary) 20. Rose, Naomi. C. (2004). Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishing. Three traditional tales about mystical beings, yaks, an enormous sow, and yeti introduce Tibetan culture and wisdom. An artist and student of Tibetan Buddhism, Rose has chosen and illustrated three traditional tales that exemplify Tibetan Buddhist beliefs. The stories, printed in both English and Tibetan, are certainly purposeful; however, the sources of the stories are not mentioned. This includes a foreword from the Dalai Lama, map of Tibet, glossary of Tibetan terms, and description of a Tibetan chant. (Elementary) 21. Sis, Peter. (1998). Tibet: Through the Red Box. NY: Farrar Straus Giroux. The author recreates his father's visit to Tibet and the wondrous things that he found there. (Elementary+) 22. Soros, Barbara (2003). Tenzin’s Deer: A Tibetan Tale. Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books. In this pictorial narrative based on a Tibetan tale, a young boy saves a wounded musk deer, compassionately nurses it, and ultimately faces the inevitable--letting it go. “Soros' understanding of the Tibetan culture and Buddhism and her knowledge of the landscape are conveyed with the clarity and respect a young reader will comprehend.” The cultural references in text and illustration appear to be accurate and vivid. (Elementary) 23. Staples, Suzanne Fischer. (1989). Shabanu. Daughter of the Wind. NY: Knopf. When eleven-year old Shabanu, the daughter of a nomad in the Cholistan Desert of present-day Pakistan, is pledged in marriage to an older man whose money will bring 4 prestige to the family, she must either accept the decision, as is the custom, or risk the consequences of defying her father's wishes.