by Mary Buff
First published 1946
Little Hawk stands beneath the towering sequoia his people call Big Tree, watching as white settlers arrive in his California valley. The massive ancient tree has sheltered his tribe for generations, its enormous trunk marking the center of their world. Now surveyors measure the forest while loggers sharpen their saws. Little Hawk must find a way to protect Big Tree from the men who see only lumber where his people see a living spirit. As the conflict grows, the boy discovers that saving his sacred grove will require courage he never knew he possessed. The fate of the last giant trees rests in the hands of one small defender who refuses to let his ancestors' guardians fall to the axe.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, underdog
Setting: California
Period: 19th-century
79 pages · Hardcover · The Viking Press