The is a retelling of a Comanche Indian legend of how one young girl's sacrifice saves her people. A young girl named She-Who-Is-Alone, sat by herself holding her beloved doll and watched the dancers waiting to hear the words of the Great Spirits. The Great Spirits said the people had become selfish and had taken from Earth without giving anything back, so the people had to make a sacrifice. They had to make a burnt offering of the most valued possession among them and scatter the ashes to the four points of the Earth. When that was done, drought and famine would cease and life would be restored to the Earth and the people. All the people were sure it wasn't their new bow, or their special blanket. She-Who-Is-Alone, offered her warrior doll, her most valued possession, the only thing she had left from her family who had died in the famine as the burnt offering. When she awoke the next morning, the ground was covered with beautiful blue flowers, a sign of forgiveness from the Great Spirits. From that day forward the little girl was known as "One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People."
This is a great book to talk about greed and selfishness. It would be interesting in upper grades to have a discussion to see if kids thought she should have had to give up her warrior doll. What would they give up?
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