and tried to come to grips with African American slavery

without the usual trappings of confrontation

honoring the past's complexity and providing insights into the present

and food in the soup pot of biological diversity

events in his life take him back to his childhood home

Thunder Boy Jr. politics and tried to come toThunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that's all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn't mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he's done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder. But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name a name that is sure to light up the sky. National Book Award