Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness Into Light - Paperback

by Tim Tingle (Author), Karen Clarkson (Illustrator)

American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor - American Indian Library Association

Saltypie is the sweet taste of Choctaw tears in this powerful picture-book memoir.

Bee stings on the backside! That was just the beginning. Tim was about to enter a world of the past, with bullying boys, sharp stones, and Indian spirits of long ago. But they were real spirits, real stones, very real memories....

In this deeply moving, beautifully illustrated family saga, Choctaw author and storyteller Tim Tingle describes his childhood and how he discovered his grandmother's painful history--from her orphan days at an Indian boarding school to hardships encountered in her new home on the Gulf Coast. But throughout these struggles, she kept her quiet, funny laugh and the love of family that held all the Tingles together.

Tingle says, "Stories of modern Indian families rarely grace the printed page. Long before I began writing, I knew this story must be told." Seen through the innocent eyes of a young boy, Saltypie is the story of one family's efforts to honor the past while struggling to gain a foothold in modern America.

Author Biography

Tim Tingle is an Oklahoma Choctaw, an award-winning storyteller, and the author of more than twenty books for children, teenagers, and adults. His titles have been recognized by the American Indian Youth Literature Award four times and nominated for numerous state awards. He received his master's degree from the University of Oklahoma with a focus in American Indian Studies. Tingle lives in Texas. Visit his website at timtingle.com.

Karen Clarkson, Choctaw artist and tribal member, lives in San Leandro, California with her husband Bill and their two dogs. A trip to Paris when she was ten inspired her to study the Old Masters, but she feels she came into her own as an artist when she started creating portraits of Native Americans. She first started learning about art by drawing pictures of all her relatives. In this way she felt as if she knew many of her ancestors even though she had never met them. Saltypie is her first book. You can find her on the web at clarksonart.com.