At the Mountain's Base

by Traci Sorell Narrated by Kimberly Guerrero

Overview

A family, separated by duty and distance, waits for a loved one to return home in this lyrical audiobook 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.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - David Treuer

Sorell's poem and Alvitre's illustrations are marvelously integrated: Words and paintings each take up a part of the story in a very beautiful dance.

Publishers Weekly

10/28/2019

In an author’s note, Sorell (We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga), who is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, explains that Native women have served in the U.S. Armed Forces “at proportionately higher rates than all other Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard Servicemembers.” In this lullaby-like poem, she imagines the Cherokee family of one such woman. The lines join with an incantatory rhythm: “At the mountain’s base/ grows a hickory tree. Beneath this sits a cabin./ In that cabin” a grandmother weaves with help from younger women and a small girl. The women, “tending and singing,” praise a missing family member: a WWII military pilot flying a combat mission. Alvitre (Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream), who is Tongva/Scots-Gaelic, paints her in her cockpit above the clouds as her thoughts circle back to her family: “Within that pilot/ forms a prayer,/ pleading for peace./ Because at the mountain’s base,/ beneath the hickory tree” awaits her beloved family. High above, with flowing hair and outstretched arms, the figure of a larger-than-life entity watches over the family and the pilot. Sorell honors an Oglala Lakota pilot and holds up her courage in this expansive, intimate picture book. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

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)

School Library Journal

★ 09/01/2019

K-Gr 3—A military family awaits the return of their loved one in this lyrical tribute to modern warrior women. At the mountain's base, beneath a hickory tree, sits a cabin, and inside, next to a cozy stove, a grandmother weaves and prays, surrounded by family members singing. Within their song, a pilot flies into danger seeking peace, and Sorell's simple yet poetic text circles back to the family in the cabin, huddled together, "waiting for her return." Individual color strands woven throughout Alvitre's watercolor and ink illustrations come together to form a striking tapestry encircling the cabin, linking its inhabitants to the pilot. Generous white space and colorful frames focus attention on the connections between the human figures. An afterword summarizes the achievements of Indigenous women in the armed forces and briefly mentions the career of Ola Mildred Rexroat, an Oglala Lakota pilot and member of the WASPs in World War II. VERDICT Accessible to a wide range of young audiences and military families, this picture book is also a unique and specific recognition of the strength and courage of Indigenous women. A first-purchase for any library.—Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

Kirkus Reviews

2019-06-16
The engaging tale of a Native woman in the military during World War II.

A Cherokee family sits around a hearth in a cabin in the woods. They are weaving and thinking of their female family member who is enlisted in the military. She flies a support plane, exhibiting courage as she hopes for safety and a return to peace. The text is simple and circular: As the family prays for their warrior, she is depicted in her plane, remembering and praying for them. With her colorful illustrations, Alvitre (Tongva/Scots-Gaelic) introduces an effective visual theme, depicting the connection between weaving and meditation as threads loop and twine through the artwork. The author is Cherokee, which may be the reason she makes the family in her story the same, but it makes for a bit of a disconnect when the author's note informs readers that the story is based on that of Oglala Lakota pilot Ola Mildred Rexroat, "the only Native woman among 1,074 Women Air Force Service Pilots in World War II." Still, the meditative text is lovely, and the artwork brings the small Cherokee abode to life with warmth and love. Children will find comfort in the story's repetition as well as its message of prayer and peace.

A Cherokee family's worry for their loved one at war reminds readers of the sacrifices made by Natives in our military. (Picture book. 5-10)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940179013341
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	Up to 4 Years

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