The Indian Who Wasn't

Excitement ran through the small farming community school when Mrs. Williams announced the new student arriving was an Indian. Jeffrey, Ricardo, and Thomas couldn't wait to meet him. This sets the stage for this charming early chapter book about the unexpected meeting of different cultures. Expecting a boy whose great-grandfather may have worn a feathered head dress and scalped someone and meeting a boy whose mother wears a sari and has a red dot on her forehead takes some adjustment for these Texas cowboys.

The expectations four young Texas cowboys have of the new student joining their small school filled with children of farmers and ranchers turns out to be quite different from the reality. Imagining Indian ancestors and exciting stories of the old west, they meet instead a family who doesn't eat beef, respects the common cow, and whose mother wears a red mark on her forehead. Sharing customs and food as well as understanding and interest proves friendship can cross many differences. This includes a new vocabulary section and an ideal introduction to the chapter-book.