Owl in the Cedar Tree

"The story is told sensitively and knowledgeably, giving readers a sympathetic picture of Navajo life at the middle of the twentieth century."--American Indian Quarterly. "Details of Navajo culture and religious beliefs and suggestions of the conflict between traditional ways and the white man's ways are accurate and interesting."--Library Journal. "Excellent reader for middle grades, written by an American Indian."--Booklist. Haske, a Navaho boy, is torn between the past of his people's rich, self-sustaining culture and a present that opens up new possibilities. His parents propel him in one direction, his grandfather in another, his teacher in still another. The boy has a secret wish, but its fulfillment seems beyond reach. At night he listens to the hoot of the owl in the cedar tree and wonders if good fortune or bad is in store. This beautifully written story finally supplies the answer. The author, Natachee Scott Momaday, was born in Kentucky of French, Cherokee Indian, and English lineage. She spent much of her life teaching on Indian reservations. In 1968 the Press Women of New Mexico presented her the Zia Award as the outstanding woman writer of that state. Her famous family includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist N. Scott Momaday.