Bluestem Horizon: A Story of a Tallgrass Prairie Book

While growing up on the tallgrass prairie, Young Bison and his three companions experience both a tornado which separates them from the herd and a prairie fire brought on by lightning.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3A well-intentioned but flawed effort. Readers follow Young Bison as he and three other yearlings try to find their herd after a tornado causes a stampede. He supposedly observes quite a number of plants and animals but many of those mentioned are not included in the illustration, such as the monarch butterfly, butterfly milkweed, grasshoppers, pocket gopher, badgers, northern harrier, dickcissels, horned larks, and the scissor-tailed flycatcher. A great deal is touched upon: the importance of fire in natural ecology, symbiotic relations between cowbirds and bison, the value of a dust bath, seasonal migrations of some birds, and bison social groupings. The realistic illustrations on double-page spreads are beautiful and have ample detail, but they just dont go with this text. Also, the language is far beyond many of the readers for whom the book is intended. There is a valiant attempt to fill in gaps by adding a picture glossary of prairie plants and animals and a four-page fold-out illustration but it also leaves out the species mentioned above. While there are some strengths here, this title doesnt merit purchase.Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.