Chooch is reluctant about many things. He is reluctant to be a storyteller like the rest of his Cherokee family, and he is reluctant to spend spring break in the small town of Greasy, Oklahoma, with Uncle Dynamite. But Chooch will find out there’s more than one way to tell...
For Middle Grades
Coulson, Art (Cherokee), and Traci Sorell (enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation), illustrations by Carlin Bear Don't Walk (Crow and Northern Cheyenne) and Roy Boney Jr. (full blood citizen of the Cherokee Nation). The Reluctant Storyteller. Reycraft Books, US.
Art Coulson is Cherokee and comes from a family of storytellers. He is the author of The Creator's Game and Unstoppable. Art lives in Minnesota with his family but still plays traditional Cherokee stickball when he visits friends and relatives in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Carlin Bear Don't Walk is an acclaimed Crow and Northern Cheyenne Artist from Busby, Montana. His award-winning art is an energetic blend of colorful oils, unique Impressionism and surreal themes. It is collected throughout the World and can be found in many galleries, universities, museums and private collections.
Roy Boney, Jr. is a full blood citizen of the GWY D.J3C Cherokee Nation. He is an award-winning artist, writer, and filmmaker with a BFA in Graphic Design and a MA in Studio Art. His work has been shown throughout the United States and internationally. He currently works in the Language Program for Cherokee Nation Educational Services Group in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where he lives.
The things I look for in a book are all here. It is set in the present day, it is tribally specific, it is written by Native people, and it rings true! Coulson knows what he’s talking about.
—American Indians in Children’s Literature
