Thunder Boy Jr.

Book: Alexie, S. (2016). Thunder Boy. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Summary:             A young son wants to be recognized for being different than his father. This sweet story tells the story of how a young Native American boy got his new name.

Impression:             The illustrations in this picture book are fun and colorful. They add details of Native American tales and customs. The diagonal angles of the pictures show movement, like dancing, jumping and riding bikes. The children are in perpetual motion across the pages, like kids in real life.              The reader may be surprised to learn that the book is about a Native American boy and his family. The cover does not give any indication about the ethnic heritage of the characters. Some of the pictures show Native American connections, like the Pow Wow dance and woven blanket. Other pictures show items and activities enjoyed by all kids, like toys, riding a tricycle and sliding in the mud.              It is touching to see the respect that the father has toward his son. The father recognizes that the son wants his own name and he doesn’t minimize his feelings. He chooses a powerful, wonderful name, so that the son doesn’t have to be called Junior.

Library Use:             What’s in a name? Discuss the power of names with students. Ask elementary students to share the meaning of their names, if they know it. Students may, also, wish to share how their got their names, ex. named after a grandmother. Use a baby name book or website to share the meaning of students’ names, like Max means “the great” and Theresa means “summer harvest”. Many students don’t know that their names have meaning. A helpful website is www.babynames.net. Another activity is to get students to create a new name modeled after Native American names, like Thunder, Lightning or Touch the Clouds. The new name should reveal something about their talents or interests. They could draw a picture showing the meaning of the name and label it.