Ann Nolan Clark (1896–1995)
Author of Secret of the Andes
About the Author
Image credit: Something About the Author (Hiles,1995 p.31)
Works by Ann Nolan Clark
Sioux cowboy, primer =: Lak'ota pte'ole hoksila, wayawapi t'okahe (Indian life readers, Sioux series) (1945) 3 copies
Buffalo caller : the story of a young Sioux boy of the early 1700's, before the coming of the horse 2 copies
About the Hen of Wahpeton 1 copy
Brother Andre' of Montreal 1 copy
About the Slim Butte raccoon 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1896-12-05
- Date of death
- 1995-12-06
1995-12-05 (Wiki) - Gender
- female
- Education
- New Mexico Highlands University
- Occupations
- teacher
materials specialist, Institute of Inter-American Affairs
writer
memoirist - Awards and honors
- Regina Medal (Catholic Library Association|1963)
Distinguished Service Award (Bureau of Indian Affairs|1962) - Short biography
- Ann Nolan Clark was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She graduated from New Mexico Normal School (now New Mexico Highlands University, NMHU) with a degree in education. In 1919, she married Thomas Patrick Clark with whom she had a son.
She began her career teaching English at NMHU. In the early 1920s, she took a job with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs as an elementary school teacher for children of the Tesuque Pueblo people, a position she held for 25 years. When she saw that the school had scarcely any instructional material geared toward Native Americans, she began writing children's books that incorporated the voices and stories of her students. Her book In My Mother's House, illustrated by Pueblo artist Velino Herrera, was named a Caldecott Honor book in 1942. She wrote about this work in her memoir Journey to the People, published in 1969.
In 1945, she transferred to the Institute for Inter-American Affairs, which sent her to live and travel for five years in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Those experiences led her to write books such as Magic Money, Looking-for-Something, and Secret of the Andes, which won the 1953 Newbery Medal. Clark wrote 31 books in her career, including some for the Haskell Foundation and the Haskell Indian Nations University at Lawrence, Kansas. In 1962, she received the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Distinguished Service Award. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA
- Places of residence
- Tesuque, New Mexico, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New Mexico, USA
Members
Reviews
The rhythm of the free verse is peaceful, not at all the sing-songy pace of so many children's books which attempt to be poetry. This is a book any adult would be happy to read aloud. In fact, this is a book any adult could read for their own enjoyment.
The mare is the main character, and we can feel with her a love of freedom. The young, unnamed boy has a minor role, but his sadness, his wise patience, and his final courage and happiness give us more range for connection. It is set in an show more unnamed canyon in desert country; the young boy tends a garden of corn, squash, and beans. His skin matches the earth (yes, could be just an artifact of the sparse color palette, but also affirming for the reader whose own skin is not a blank white).
The only word I have trouble with is 'master', to describe the relationship of the boy to horse. I think Clark didn't accurately name the true relatedness. It is easy to substitute "friend" or make up a name for the boy when reading.
I think this short book should be better known. The illustrations are as special as you would expect from a renowned artist. show less
The mare is the main character, and we can feel with her a love of freedom. The young, unnamed boy has a minor role, but his sadness, his wise patience, and his final courage and happiness give us more range for connection. It is set in an show more unnamed canyon in desert country; the young boy tends a garden of corn, squash, and beans. His skin matches the earth (yes, could be just an artifact of the sparse color palette, but also affirming for the reader whose own skin is not a blank white).
The only word I have trouble with is 'master', to describe the relationship of the boy to horse. I think Clark didn't accurately name the true relatedness. It is easy to substitute "friend" or make up a name for the boy when reading.
I think this short book should be better known. The illustrations are as special as you would expect from a renowned artist. show less
Forgotten treasure.
As part of a book winnowing project, I rediscovered this treasure among my little vintage collection of children's books. Printed in 1954 by Viking Press in a library binding. Those amazing old bindings (I don't see them being done for children's books in libraries any more) happily means this book will last for at least 100 or more years.
I grew up in New Mexico seeing the Houser sculptures in our local art museum, taken there often by school trips and by my grandmother. show more Artist Allan Houser was an Apache artist, part of the Modern art trending at that time, his sculptures flowing and simplified Native American figures in bronze. His illustrations here are different than his sculptures, more traditional, but have also a distinctive Houser style.
The illustrations are often arrestingly beautiful.
Together Houser's illustrations with New Mexico native and school teacher Ann Nolan Clark's prose, a prose that echoes poetry, make an immersive reading experience. It is a simple story about a wild mare and an Apache boy's relationship, living in the deep canyons of the American West. It took me a couple of hours to read, stopping so often to spend time with the illustrations and feel the reverberations of the text.
I've been winnowing, but this book is a keeper. Clark and Houser created a lovely work, that quietly took me to a place and time, one that felt familiar to me. show less
As part of a book winnowing project, I rediscovered this treasure among my little vintage collection of children's books. Printed in 1954 by Viking Press in a library binding. Those amazing old bindings (I don't see them being done for children's books in libraries any more) happily means this book will last for at least 100 or more years.
I grew up in New Mexico seeing the Houser sculptures in our local art museum, taken there often by school trips and by my grandmother. show more Artist Allan Houser was an Apache artist, part of the Modern art trending at that time, his sculptures flowing and simplified Native American figures in bronze. His illustrations here are different than his sculptures, more traditional, but have also a distinctive Houser style.
The illustrations are often arrestingly beautiful.
Together Houser's illustrations with New Mexico native and school teacher Ann Nolan Clark's prose, a prose that echoes poetry, make an immersive reading experience. It is a simple story about a wild mare and an Apache boy's relationship, living in the deep canyons of the American West. It took me a couple of hours to read, stopping so often to spend time with the illustrations and feel the reverberations of the text.
I've been winnowing, but this book is a keeper. Clark and Houser created a lovely work, that quietly took me to a place and time, one that felt familiar to me. show less
I remember greatly enjoying this book when I first read it aloud, many years ago, so I was happy to find a chance to read it again. I was surprised, though, when I realized how sun worship is a major theme throughout the entire book. Throughout the story, Cusi both observes and participates in rituals to welcome the sun every morning. That gave us something to discuss as we read it!
One major theme throughout the story is Cusi’s search for a family. He was raised by an old man in a lonely show more valley high in the Andes Mountains—but why was he kept apart from all other people? As the mysteries of his past and that of his people are slowly revealed, we learn a lot about Peru and the ancient Inca.
Despite the heavy emphasis on pagan beliefs, I believe that this book is valuable as a glimpse into Peruvian culture and a child’s need for love and family. However, it definitely needs parental guidance. show less
One major theme throughout the story is Cusi’s search for a family. He was raised by an old man in a lonely show more valley high in the Andes Mountains—but why was he kept apart from all other people? As the mysteries of his past and that of his people are slowly revealed, we learn a lot about Peru and the ancient Inca.
Despite the heavy emphasis on pagan beliefs, I believe that this book is valuable as a glimpse into Peruvian culture and a child’s need for love and family. However, it definitely needs parental guidance. show less
This book is what gives Newbery Winners a bad name. It is well written, with beautiful descriptions, has a historical setting not well represented in literature, and is a natural choice for teachers looking to fill the void. The trouble is, it's not a great book. Yes, there's the conflict of a boy wanting to belong, to find a family. But conflict alone doesn't make a compelling story, and if I found it dry, as an adult reader, I suspect most children will find it dry as well. Moreover, the show more book actually has little educational content, not enough to justify leading an unwilling child to drink herein. My recommendation is to skip this one. If you must use it... read it aloud, bring out many pictures of the geography, learn the history first, and hope for the best. show less
Lists
Newbery Adjacent (11)
Sonlight Books (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 60
- Also by
- 7
- Members
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- Popularity
- #6,752
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 33
- ISBNs
- 75
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