An engaging blend of captivating stories with insightful commentary. However, its Kindle formatting occasionally disrupts the reading flow - I am hoping the presentation is better in physical form. I will definitely be purchasing for the library and hope to see more books in a similar vein released in the coming years.

On the Turtle’s Back is an educational read that tells stories from the Lenape tribe, also know as the Delaware Nation. This isn’t just a read that passes down their tales. It also talks about their history. How they were moved from their homeland and then had to keep moving before they finally settled in Oklahoma. It dives into the history those those who were sharing these stories which I thought was an excellent way to really help connect with the stories more.

There was a strong will to have these stories be as authentic as possible. Nothing was cleaned up. There were grammar mistakes and words crossed out as they really transcribed what was written. I loved that aspect, but it also made it very difficult to read at times. There were some I really struggled with understanding what they were trying to get across.

Before each story, there is a little section that describes more about the story. The commentary gives more background that really helps the reader feel like they are gaining as much knowledge as possible about the Lenape.

If you are interested in the history of the Delaware Nation, I highly recommend that you check this one out.

I was provided a free advanced copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I am actually a registered member of the Lenape tribe! But have never been an active member and only visited the headquarters once. So when I came across this book on NetGalley, I requested it to learn more.
The stories are interesting, but sometimes hard to understand at times. I appreciated the author's attempt to tell the history of the tribe and keep the authenticity of the stories (kept some spelling mistakes and crossed our text).
If you are interested in the history of a native American tribe and their stories, definitely check this one out! It was published on Friday, so you can go ahead and get a copy!
#NetGalley #OnTheTurtlesBack

On the Turtle’s Back was an interesting book. It had a lot of good information and I enjoyed learning more about the Lenape people.

It was a fascinating read, I am going to need to buy a physical copy as I was difficult to follow on the Kindle. But, from what I gather the format it was written in, was unique and made the book more interesting.

This was an educational privilege to read. Not only does it share a large collection of Lenape stories as literally told by several members of the tribe, but the book also give background on the Lenape nations and includes sizable background and commentary for each individually story, making the book feel as historically and culturally comprehensive as it can be.

I'll be honest - my main quibble with it is that it makes me wish that similar works existed containing the stories of other tribes, not in the least the ones who inhabited and who continue to live in my own corner of the United States in Connecticut (Quinnipac, amongst others). But here's to hoping that others will follow similarly in the footsteps of "On the Turtle's Back", and that we'll be seeing the collections of other tribes' tales published in the near future!