Little Braid's Quest in the West
Author: Laura Stevenson
Introducing “Little Braid's Quest In The West”
Laura Stevenson
My brother and I collaborated on creating a 58-page children’s book in the mid 90’s that we titled “Little Braid’s Quest In The West”. Don Larsen, the author (retired elementary school teacher), provided the historical and ecological details, while I had the joy of sketching out 29 full-page illustrations. A story you can color!
The story narrative is about a young Native American girl who uses her animal tracking skills to solve a mystery for her tribe. The book's format is unique as the storyline parallels into it an interactive history lesson centering on the West’s Native American tribes, North American animals, and plant environments.
Little Braid’s and her friend Browtine (elk/wapiti) set out on their journey following animal tracks. The introduction of various animal tracks provides a wonderful opportunity to explore with the reader the incredible animal life, aquatic life and ecosystems that are found in North America. We were even able to inject some Montana history using the idea of a “quest” by introducing the Four Georgians and Last Chance Gulch.
The first printing was done in 2005 by the Owyhee County Museum in Murphy, ID. I feel the story has so much value that I had a second printing done in April 2022 by The Copy Cup in Townsend. The Copy Cup has done a fantastic job and was wonderful to work with.
The book can be found at the Reading Leaves Bookstore and The Bird’s Nest. Both businesses are located on Broadway Street in Townsend.
Join us on November 6, 2022 from 1:00pm--4:00pm! We are excited to have an opportunity to share the book and feature local Native American artists! We will play “Ring the Stick Game”, enjoy Fry Bread Tacos and follow some animal tracks!!! Our event will be hosted at The Bird’s Nest located at 200 Broadway Street in Townsend, MT.
See you there!
