Three new books by Charles H. Bertram!
Humor played an important part in the lives of North American Indians. These stories are about the northern plains Indians and are authentic in many factors.
RUSTY SON OF TALL ELK: (To be published January 2008, DNA Press)
In 1858, ten year old Russell, nicknamed Rusty, a bright freckle-faced farm boy, is captured by Cheyenne Indians. His flaming red hair saves his life. A chief has a half-breed daughter, Late Setting Sun, with red hair. It would be big medicine to have both a boy and girl with the red hair. Rusty daydreams of adventures with himself as the hero, thanks to all his reading.
His new sister is one inch taller, one year older and until Rusty arrived, has been the most special person in the tribe. An exhausted Rusty first meets his sister when she is given the routine chore of getting him properly dressed as a Cheyenne to meet the chiefs and elders. His shyness and both of their stubbornness clash.
"I'm not taking off my pants! Not in front of a girl."
"There is no time for a white boy's foolish shyness."
She trips and spanks him to make him let her dress him. Teasing about that and the freckles on his white butt will haunt Rusty for a year. Rusty can read lips and that skill gets him in trouble but also saves the lives of his friends from Crow warriors. At age twelve he has a vision quest and announces he will stay until he is sixteen.
RUSTY'S SECRET:
Book two deals with Rusty's questions of identity, Indian or white, and his coming of age and being the last fifteen year-old virgin in the village, in spite of his reading stories to the young girls. There is talk of sex, but no graphic details, and there is a lot of humor.
RUSTY'S DILEMMA
Adventures include Civil war and a trip to Ireland to rescue his Indian sister.
Copyright© 2004-2008 Charles H. Bertram
