Corn Flower - Lester James Jr. D.

Adventures and challenges face twelve-year-old Corn Flower, a Native American girl. She is a member of the Kansa tribe living along the Cottonwood River in the 1820s and is the daughter of White Plume and Kicking Swan. Corn Flower and her best friend Night Sparrow are in charge of each family's herd of goats. Together they sing the "Song of the Kansa" and find excitement in their simple life on the prairie grasses of the Great Plains. They also go to the shallow stream of the Neosho River to gather mussel shells like the Neosho Mucket. With these shells, the girls learn to make crafts such as buttons and combs for hair. A celebration of many tribes comes together at a pow-wow at the homeland of the Osage nation where more crafting takes place during the daytime and dancing under the open sky at night. The Kansa tribe also goes on a hunt for the great, shaggy Bison upon the prairie just south of their village. With their store of meat, Corn Flower travels to the land of the Ponca tribe with her father to swap and share their Bison harvest in exchange for pottery and pelts of deer and elk. Along with folktales of the plains people, Corn Flower shows her true heart as a member of the Kansa people by always seeking adventure along the wilderness trail. Includes Readers Guide.