On the rim of a great valley, where the hills turn into mountains, lives Blue Jay Girl, a Yaudanchi child who goes where she wants to go and does what she wants to do. While the other girls are learning to make baskets in the safety of the village, she roams through the woods to climb the tallest trees and explore the deepest caves. She is afraid of nothing. But when she tries to play with the other children in the village, their parents believe she is too dangerous and forbid it.
Sad and alone, Blue Jay Girl seeks the help of Opodo Kouteun, the shaman of the tribe, to change her personality to that of the careful quail. Instead, Opodo Kouteun and his wife help her to understand that the brave blue jay has something the careful quail does not: the courage to fly far and wide, the ability to make a difference, and the fortitude to see things through. Written and illustrated by the author of Lion Singer, Blue Jay Girl is an empowering and heartwarming tale that can be appreciated by children and adults alike.
Sylvia Ross was born and raised in Los Angeles, apart from her family’s Chukchansi culture. Early on, she worked as a painter for Walt Disney Productions, later returning to school to earn a B.A. from Fresno State University. She then moved with her family to eastern Tulare County, where she taught at a school attended by the children of the Tule River Indian Reservation. She is the author of Lion Singer, a children’s book about a boy in the Chukchansi tribe, has written for News from Native California, and has work in the anthologies The Dirt Is Red Here and Spring Salmon, Hurry To Me.
