In Colin and the Legend of the Weeping Willow by Anna Casamento-Arrigo, curious Colin learns a Native American legend about the Weeping Willow from one of his favorite people, his grandmother.
Across the years, people have shared their cultural legends and tales. Often these stories are told to explain phenomena in the natural world, and are passed down by elders through oral traditions.
In this story, Colin visits his grandparents to join in fun activities like baking cupcakes and playing catch. During the cupcake making, he shares with his grandma that he has been learning about Native American legends, and she takes the opportunity to tell him another Native story.
As Colin and Grandma sit under a willow, she shares the story of how the willow came to be called “weeping”.
She introduces Colin to some heritage, practices, and values of the tribe whose story she borrowed, while telling him about the variety of Native Tribes that were here before the explorers came.
The beautiful illustrations of Gabriel Parame show how Colin imagines his grandmother’s story, including a fun tie-in to the legend that Colin and his grandma get to experience at the end.
Colin and the Legend of the Weeping Willow is a perfect story for a grandmother– or grandfather– to read to a child and continue the tradition of sharing legends throughout the generations.
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