The Legend of the Bluebonnet

Source: dePaola, Tomi. The Legend of the Bluebonnet: an Old Tale of Texas. New York: Putnam's Sons, 1983.

Summary: The spring rains have not yet come to awaken the earth and provide food for the Comanche people. They pray to the Great Spirits to ask what they must do to end the famine, and the shaman tells them that they must sacrifice their most valued possession and scatter the ashes to the four winds. One little girl sacrifices the doll that is all she has left of her family, who died in the famine. In the morning, the hills are covered with flowers as blue as the feathers that decorated her doll's hair.

Cultural origins: Comanche/Native American. The story includes an author's note about the research he did on the story and its various versions.

Audience: 1st-3rd graders. Although this is not a complicated story, the themes of famine, death, and sacrifice may be beyond younger audiences. This would be a good story to tell during a school unit on Native Americans or on different states, since the bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas.

Adaptation notes: I would add more background information about the Comanche tribe and their customs, in order to give a broader understanding of the story.