The tale of The Bone Man was first recorded by Western society in 1900. It is a story coming from the little-known Modoc tribe. As with any such story, the piece works as a way of understanding the values of the culture which created it. We see bravery, honor, and personal duty were highly valued by the Modoc. The art is beautiful, and the artist took pains to research his subjects so that he might create the most accurate representation of their culture and their way of life. ( )

Nulwee and his grandma live in a famined land caused by the Bone Man. According to his grandma, Nulwee is destined to bring the waters back. One day on a walk, Nulwee accidentally wakes up the Bone Man and is frightened. The monster began to gain his strength back and Nulwee decides to start practicing becoming a warrior to defeat the him. Once Nulwee felt ready, he shot an arrow through the Bone Man's heart and saved him and his grandma. ( )

The Bone man is a native American Modoc tale about a young boy named Nulwee and his battle with a monster known as the Bone man. The Bone man is a big skeletal creature. Hearing stories from his grandmother about what the Bone man is capable of, Nulwee is frightened. One day, when Nulwee was picking berries, he wakes up the Bone man who is very hungry and demands to be fed or else he will eat Nulwee and his grandmother. Nulwee feeds him until the Bone man grows larger and larger. Nulwee is taunted constantly by the Bone man who tells him he does not have it in him to kill him. After a talk with his grandmother, Nulwee decides to do it. He kills the Bone man by shooting him in his finger, which is where is heart is located. This book will teach students more about native Americans and also tell them a good story. I believe that the children will enjoy the story and the bravery behind it. Something I would do that relates to this story is place my students into groups and have them investigate the life style of the Modoc Native Americans. ( )

After seeing countless Halloween books just in the last few days, I'm really enjoying looking for spooky stories that are a little bit out of the box—as in, spooky, but not necessarily Halloween™. ( )

This folktale of the Modoc was first recorded in writing in about 1900. It tells of young Nulwee, who along with his grandmother, is the last of his people. Kokolimalaya "The Bone Man" had drunk the river dry and devoured everyone else in their tribe. Nulwee's ancestors had predicted that Nulwee would one day bring back his people. In this David and Goliath story, Nulwee defeats the awful Bone Man, throws his heart into the sky, and in this way, brings water and life back to the world. The illustrations by McCurdy are extremely scary, but perfectly match the story. Children should love this folktale. ( )