Two tales of the Kootenai are simply told by Kootenai elders and illustrated by Kootenai artists of Flathead Indian Reservation. "Owl's Eyes" tells how Owl first got his eyes opened by being surprised to see his friend Mouse gobbled up by Snake. Ever since, he stares! "Seeking a Spirit" tells of Lassaw's search for a spirit guide. He vision-quests on a mountain and discovers a great buffalo who will be his spirit helper. Imagine a cold winter night by the fire in (present day) northwest Montana where the Kootenai or Kaanka nation live. There were fish, deer, buffalo, roots and berries to eat. It was a hard life but a good one. Storytelling passed the time in the long winters and also communicated traditional values, such as wariness, respect for prey,habits and characteristics of game animals, and values such as respect for tribal community, sharing, and thrift. Owl's Eyes And Seeking A Spirit is second in a series of three. Suitable for children.

Nancy Lorraine Reviewer

I thought Pathki Nana was an awesome book! I thought it was clever and I really like how much Kenneth Thomasma researches before he writes. Pathki Nana was an 8-year-old girl who saw something that would change her life forever. It talks about her difficulties in trying to get back to her tribe while being pursued by and evil man named Cut-Ears. I would advise everybody to read it!

This is my all time favorite book. The author did such a wonderful job... at times I felt like I was at Pathki Nana's side, and feeling her pain. The book is about a girl who feels left out so she goes out in the wild, like the girls do when they are older. Her grandmother is her inspiration. On her journey she gets hurt, so she uses her survival skills. She encounters many things that make her journey even more difficult. This is a great book... full of adventure and joy!

You must read Pathki Nana by Kenneth Thomasma. Pathki Nana is full of powerful feelings and emotions. The Kootenai girl unravels a mystery of her tribe and flees for her life with an oozing infected knee and a wild man close on her tail! To find out how she survives, read the book. If I tell anymore, I'm afraid I would give away the end. -Grace Borchers - Age 9

This is the story of a young man whose father gets killed out on his own range, sells off the land and stock, then goes off to be a doctor. He watches his own father die and this is his inspiration to become a doctor. When he comes back to Coffin Gap, however, things have changed. He soon finds out that there is a lot more to Coffin Gap that he ever imagined. He finds out the truth about who killed his dad, he tries to remain neutral in his treatments between the ranchers and the hydraulic miners, and finds his long ago love. He vainly tries to put in a hospital, fights off a typhoid epidemic, and in the meantime, almost gets ambushed twice. Less Savage, Jr. takes on a big topic for 1949, however, because he bravely deals with biological contamintation issues and the editors who did not like it. Also, however, he finds love, an old love, from when he first left, and comes back to find that she is married. Overall, a great story, but one I wish were longer and more developed in regards to Craig and Nola. There just isn't much there except to wonder. One thing I will say, however, is that now I want to read more Less Savage, Jr. stories. He does a fine job of making the story believable and it had a good flow to the plot.

It is written to much like a chronicle rather than a novel. It gives a little different outlook to the American and Canadian West in the mid 1800's. The story also shows Canadians that it's West was not "won" without some violence.....It may spark a little more interest in the Canadian West as soon as we take off our "rose coloured" glasses and look for a little more of the truth.