Reading Level: Primary
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary: A Cherokee legend of how a chief chooses his successor. The chief asks three young men to climb the yonder mountains and tests them to find out who will make the best chief.
Evaluation: This is an interesting legend that will make learning about Indians fun and exciting. This book was simple and easy to read. This book is not packed with information about Indians, however, through the storytelling, pictures, and writing style the reader gets a better understanding of the Indian lifestyle in an interesting book.

When the aging Chief Sky realizes that he is no longer able to lead his people, he dispatches three worthy young men to a distant mountaintop, with instructions to return with whatever they find there. The first two, Black Bear and Gray Wolf, stop midway up the mountain, returning with valuable things - precious stones that can be used in trade, healing herbs - that will improve the life of the people. Only Soaring Eagle, obedient to Chief Sky's command, makes it to the top, returning empty-handed, but with news of a distant people in need of help...

Told to Kay Thorpe Bannon, the Educational Consultant for the Eastern Cherokee Language Project, by Cherokee elder Robert H. Bushyhead, Yonder Mountain is a traditional teaching tale never before seen in print. As Joseph Bruchac (one of my favorite children's authors) notes in his foreword, it is a story that reflects the Native American tradition of using storytelling, rather than punishment, as a means of teaching children.

I appreciated the fact that the competition here is not between a hero and two non-heroes, but between three good men, and that the two "non-winners" still had something valuable to contribute, even if they weren't chosen as leader. I also liked the inclusion of Cherokee words (transliterated into English, of course), and found the pencil and watercolor illustrations by Kristina Rodanas absolutely gorgeous! Yonder Mountain is definitely a book young folktale lovers will want to read - highly recommended! ( )