Goodbye Summer!

On this first day of fall, I want to share a few summer tidbits and revisit connections to a couple of books.

We had some great family times, including our almost-five-year-old granddaughter's first bike rides. She invited us to her house to watch her ride because the video on her mom's phone just wasn't enough.

Charles Ghigna covered this in his forth-coming book First Times. I blogged about that book here.
"The first time I help my mother go shopping.
The first time I ride my bike without stopping."

It was a proud time for all of us, and we were pleased to see our granddaughter's grit as she fell and got up again, learning to master the turns.

Another highlight was meeting Andrea Page, author of Sioux Code Talkers of World War II, and hearing her presentation based on her book. She packed our library meeting room, and people even came from other towns to learn more about this important topic. I blogged about the book here.

I'm thankful that Andrea and the family who traveled with her from Rochester, NY, had a great time in my state. You can see her remarks here, here, here, and here. And our tourism bureau did not pay her for any of these glowing reports!

What were some of your great times this summer? Bye, summer, and hello, fall!

Sioux Code Talkers of World War II by Author Andrea Page

I'm excited to bring you news about this debut book by Andrea Page. I was fortunate to win it in an online contest. As soon as I heard of it, I realized its importance to the people of my state. We've heard about code talkers from other Native American tribes, but not about the people who live where I do. That said, anyone interested in WWII or Native American issues will find this book of interest. 

Author Andrea Page, a relative of Sioux Code Talker Sioux John Bear King, sets the stage by giving an account of Sioux culture and history. She goes on to tell how Sioux men chosen to be code talkers were part of the US Army's efforts in winning battles in WWII's Pacific Theater. Her excellent writing lets the reader see the irony of a government that once punished the Sioux for speaking their language now using that language to win a war. Page's thorough research includes photos and transcripts of some of the messages Sioux Code Talkers sent and received. Complete with summary bio information about each of the featured Code Talkers, a bibliography, and index, this book adds new material to the WWII canon. Written as juvenile nonfiction, this book would appeal to adults as well as young people.

I was especially impressed to learn that this book was 2 decades in the making, from the time she learned about John King Bear's service through years of primary document research and interviews to the writing itself. Ta da! At last, a book was born!

Hear more about the writing of the book from Andrea and her mother:

Andrea is making a trip back to "Siouxland" that includes a talk at Siouxland Libraries:

If you're in the area, come out and meet Andrea!