At the Mountain's Base - by Traci Sorell (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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."--From publisher.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

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)

About the Author

Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction books, as well as poems for children. Her debut nonfiction picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (Charlesbridge Publishing) is a Junior Library Guild selection. Traci is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma where her tribe is located.

Weshoyot Alvitre is a comic book artist and illustrator. She's most recently worked as art director for the video game When Rivers Were Trails and illustrator on the graphic novel Redrawing History with the Library Company of Philadelphia. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including the Eisner Award for Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream and Prism Award for Hummingbird Boys in Moonshot Volume 2. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and two children.