State Historical Society releasing children’s book ‘Enchanted Buffalo’

L. Frank Baum’s "The Enchanted Buffalo" is the fifth book in the Prairie Tale Series from the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, according to a recent news release from the organization. Donald F. Montileaux (MON’-tih-loh), a renowned Oglala Lakota Sioux artist from Rapid City, illustrated the fairy tale set on the prairies of South Dakota.

Good and evil, treachery and bravery, pride and wisdom are featured in the fable about the heyday of buffalo on the Great Plains.

"The Enchanted Buffalo," written in 1905, is about a tribe of mighty buffalo that find themselves without a leader.  A power struggle among several of the buffalo teaches readers about the dangers of greed, dirty tricks and broken promises.

Baum is best remembered for his book "The Wizard of Oz," but he also wrote many other fairy tales and short stories. Time he spent in South Dakota inspired him to write The Enchanted Buffalo, based on American Indian traditions. Baum was a newspaperman in Aberdeen from 1888 to 1891.

Montileaux’s book, "Tatanka and the Lakota People: A Creation Story," won an Aesop Accolade and a Spur Award, as well as three other national awards. His ledger-book-inspired artwork has been featured across the nation in both private and public collections.

Available for $14.95 plus shipping and tax, "The Enchanted Buffalo" can be purchased from most bookstores or ordered directly from the South Dakota State Historical Society Press. Visit www.sdshspress.com or call (605) 773-6009.

The Prairie Tale Series has won 11 national awards, including an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society, Most Outstanding Children’s Book from the Mom’s Choice Awards for Dance in a Buffalo Skull, and most recently, a Distinctive Illustration prize, also from the Mom’s Choice Awards.