The Seventh Direction: A Legend of Creation

A Lakota creation story, The Seventh Direction: A Legend of Creation by Kevin Locke and Kristy Cameron is a story about the human spirit.

The Great Spirit created the world in seven days, starting with four directions and ending with the human spirit but they didn’t want to just hand it to humans for then it wouldn’t be sacred, then it would be taken for granted. All of the animals offered their thoughts and suggestions but none were quite right until the mole offered its wisdom, to place the human spirit inside each and every one of us.

Kevin Locke shares his storytelling with young readers through this beautiful creation story. The book has many pages, however just a few lines of writing on each page, leaving ample space for all of the beautiful illustrations to complement the text. Readers are treated to the Lakota words for the animals and the seven directions. Although there is no pronunciation guide in the book, there are many videos on YouTube to listen to the language if you wish to use it while sharing the story and you should. Readers should have access to many different languages in stories.

I love reading traditional stories. They offer a glimpse into a culture's beginnings and their belief systems. In this story, it was important for the Great Spirit to ensure that humans understood their connection to the Earth. It’s a wonderful reminder to all readers about our responsibility as we walk this Earth, to be a good relative and caretaker to all creation. In our hearts we all have the capacity to do so, thanks to The Great Spirit.

Kristy Cameron’s woodland style illustrations are perfect for this legend story. Since the style blends legends and myths with contemporary mediums, she reflects the power of the story through her art and fills each two page spread with vibrant colour and bold lines.