This is a folktale about the emergence and influence of horses on the lives of the Native American tribes living on the Great Plains. The imagery sends the reader right into the story and the brightly colored illustrations add to this beautifully written tale. There is a short explanation at the beginning of the book which describes the meaning of the title and the fact that this book centers on the nomadic buffalo hunters who struggled to obtain food before the introduction of the horse by the Spanish. This story is about respecting animals and the earth. ( )

The Great Spirit gives the sacred dog to an Indian boy seeking relief for his hungry people.

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A Native American folklore story about where horses come from. A boy who goes out to find help for his tribe. A man on a "sacred dog" tells him all about these animals and then many more come out of the clouds for him to deliver to his people

The Gift of the Sacred Dog by Paul Goble is a folktale about the tribes of nomadic buffalo hunters who lived on the Great Plains. One day the people of this tribe were very hungry and had walked many days in order to find the buffalo herds. However, they were no where to be found and the people had become too exhausted to walk any farther. So, the wise men from the village suggested that they must dance to bring back the buffalo. The peoples attempts failed. So, a young boy got tired of seeing his family hungry. So, the boy went up the mountains and asked help from the great spirits. The great spirits heard the boy's cry and gave him the "sacred dog" (horses). The great spirit instructed the boy to take great care of them and the "sacred dogs" would help the people follow the buffalo more effectively. I thought this was a very interesting folk tale. ( )