Books for Kids: The Spirit of Hiawatha

Tami Kiser reviews a picture book by Demi that explores a different side of a familiar figure in American poetry.

The book The Spirit of Hiawatha is interesting, beautiful, and filled with history that is probably unfamiliar to most.

When I first got this book, I glanced through all of the pictures. I am a fan of the author and illustrator, Demi. I love the colors and small pictures that make up the “bigger picture.” I had just recently finished reading Demi’s book on St. Hildegard when I saw this book about Hiawatha. Although I typically would not read a book on this topic, I thought, “Why not?” especially when I saw it was published by the Catholic publishing house, Ignatius Press. I was also confused, “What does Hiawatha have to do with anything Catholic?”

My only association with Hiawatha was that really long poem, “Hiawatha's Childhood” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that you’re supposed to recite like a beating drum, “By the shores of Gitche Gumee, By the shining Big-Sea-Water, Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, Daughter of …”

I didn’t even know that Hiawatha was an historical figure.

He was indeed. But was he a Catholic? Why feature this book on CatholicMom?

Spoiler alert: He never became Catholic, but as the back of the book says: “The visionary Hiawatha inspired many legends as he prepared the way for the Gospel in North America.”

Hiawatha lived in the 1500s. The Jesuits wouldn't bring the Gospel to the Native Americans until the 1600s. This great Native American, an Iroquios, proposed the idea of The League of Nations, which brought great peace between the tribes. In fact, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin studied some of its proposals when forming our nation's government.

Hiawatha also has many legends associated with him, all portraying him with saintly virtues.

It's interesting to study other religions, especially with your children as they get to a questioning age about this. We don’t need to be afraid. All of humanity has this “religious sense.” When the Gospel is absent or presented in an unfaithful way, people will come up with their own ideas. This is what the Native Americans did. When mankind follows his heart -- and as Scripture says, “the law is written in our hearts,” we see many similarities in our beliefs and values. Hiawatha seems to be an example of someone who had this innate sense of right and wrong, and followed his conscience.

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A perfect read-along, look-at-the-pictures, and talk-about-book to share together. #catholicmom

I read The Spirit of Hiawatha with my 8-year-old daughter. It is a perfect read-along, look-at-the-pictures, and talk-about-book to share together. The book says ages 7 and up. If your child is studying early American history, this would be a great edition to his/her curriculum. It should be in every Catholic school library.