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At the Mountain's Base

Author Traci Sorell On Tour
Illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre
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A family, separated by duty and distance, waits for a loved one to return home in this lyrical picture book celebrating the bonds of a Cherokee family and the bravery of history-making women pilots.

At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war.

With an author's note that pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat, this is a story that reveals the roots that ground us, the dreams that help us soar, and the people and traditions that hold us up.
Best-selling author Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association, including At the Mountain’s Base, Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series and She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller. A former federal Indigenous law attorney and policy advocate, Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen and first-generation college graduate. She lives within her tribe’s reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. View titles by Traci Sorell
Educator Guide for At the Mountain's Base

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

PRAISE FOR AT THE MOUNTAIN'S BASE
by Traci Sorell and Weshoyot Alvitre 

2020 American Indian Youth Literature Award - Picture Book Honor
2020 American Library Association Notable Children's Book
2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
2020 Rise: A Feminist Book Project - Top Ten List
2020 Notable Books for a Global Society Award List
2020 Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommendation List
2021-2022 The Great Texas Mosquito List
2022 Notable Children's Recordings List



* "A first-purchase for any library." --School Library Journal (starred review) 

* "With a message that is universal while also centering Native women, this blend of fiction and nonfiction, the human and the divine, is simply brilliant." --Booklist (starred review) 

* "The meditative text is lovely, and the artwork brings the small Cherokee abode to life with warmth and love." -- Shelf Awareness (starred review)

At the Mountain's Base - Read Aloud with Author Traci Sorell | Brightly Storytime Together

About

A family, separated by duty and distance, waits for a loved one to return home in this lyrical picture book celebrating the bonds of a Cherokee family and the bravery of history-making women pilots.

At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war.

With an author's note that pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat, this is a story that reveals the roots that ground us, the dreams that help us soar, and the people and traditions that hold us up.

Author

Best-selling author Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and an award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association, including At the Mountain’s Base, Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series and She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller. A former federal Indigenous law attorney and policy advocate, Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen and first-generation college graduate. She lives within her tribe’s reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. View titles by Traci Sorell

Guides

Educator Guide for At the Mountain's Base

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Praise

PRAISE FOR AT THE MOUNTAIN'S BASE
by Traci Sorell and Weshoyot Alvitre 

2020 American Indian Youth Literature Award - Picture Book Honor
2020 American Library Association Notable Children's Book
2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
2020 Rise: A Feminist Book Project - Top Ten List
2020 Notable Books for a Global Society Award List
2020 Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommendation List
2021-2022 The Great Texas Mosquito List
2022 Notable Children's Recordings List



* "A first-purchase for any library." --School Library Journal (starred review) 

* "With a message that is universal while also centering Native women, this blend of fiction and nonfiction, the human and the divine, is simply brilliant." --Booklist (starred review) 

* "The meditative text is lovely, and the artwork brings the small Cherokee abode to life with warmth and love." -- Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Media

At the Mountain's Base - Read Aloud with Author Traci Sorell | Brightly Storytime Together

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