Book Details

Description:(preview book)

“Tupi The Chipmunk An Indian Boy Of Yosemite” is a children’s book that provides a glimpse at a day in the life of a Miwok Indian boy living in the Yosemite before the white men.

Fran Hubbard wrote children's books while she and her family lived in Yosemite. The wife of Chief Park Naturalist Doug Hubbard, her four children and her children's Indian friends helped inspire her to create “Tupi”.

Teaming up with famous Yosemite artist Ed Vella "Tupi" is beautifully written and illustrated.

With first-hand knowledge of things like the preparation of native Indian meals…like acorn mush, the book is fun while remaining authentic.

Surrounded by the animals that are his daily companions, Tupi enjoys a warm summer day in the valley of the A-wa-ni.

He learns the customs and traditions of his people; helping his grandmother prepare acorns for baking, and watching grandfather fashion arrowheads from the black volcanic glass called obsidian.

An excerpt from “Tupi The Chipmunk An Indian Boy Of Yosemite”:

In front of his cedar Bark uma-cha sat Tupi’s grandfather, The Arrow-maker. In his left hand he held a piece of shiny black rock, while with his right hand he chipped it with a tool made from the antler of the deer. Patiently he worked until the arrow point was sharp and to his liking.

The good black rock came from the country of the Mo-no, across the mountains. Each summer Tupi’s people made the long journey to trade acorns and baskets for salt, pine nuts, and the arrow-rock, called obsidian.