A slideshow I created for my Read Around the World Book Club to be able to discuss and understand the stories behind the book Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

1. Friday, November 13 at 3 pm
Pasadena Public Library online
Read Around the World Book Club

2. Ya’át’ééh:
(YAH-AH-TEH)
Hello

3. Ahéhee’:
(ah-HYEH-eh)
Thank you

4. Hogan:
(HO-ghan)
Traditional
Diné house

5. K’é:
(k-EH)
Kinship,
family

6. tsiyéél:
(see-YEH)
Traditional
Diné bun
http://www.navajocour
ts.org/NNPSS/Twins%
20Narrative%20for%2
0Public%20Safety%20
Summit%202018.pdf
http://nationalclothing.org/america/81-native-american-indians/414-navajo-
traditional-costume-and-jewelry-each-element-represents-something-
significant.html

7. Na’ashjéii:
(nah-ush-JEH-ee)
Spider
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/8022105572021108/
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

8. Monster Slayer and Born-for-Water were twins
born to Changing Woman, and their father was
the Sun.
They didn’t know their father, and their mother
wouldn’t say who he was. They went looking for
him, and ended up being followed by monsters.
Their mother begged them to stay home and be
safe, but they felt they must leave her in order
to protect her from the monsters that were
following them.
http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf

9. http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf
They met Spider Woman,
who told them who their
father was. She said they’d
have to go through trials to
meet him, including rocks
that could crush you, reeds
that could cut you, and
boiling hot sand. She gave
them a hoop fashioned
from eagle feathers.

10. http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf
 During their trials, the Wind
gave them advice. And when
they met their father, he tested
them and the Wind again gave
them advice about how to
survive his tests.
 When they passed his tests, the
Sun offered his sons jewels and
livestock, but the Wind had told
them to say, “That’s not what
we came for, Father. We came
for armor to kill the monsters
that are chasing us.”

11. http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf
 The Sun gave them armor for battle but
told them they could not attack Big Giant
because he is also the Sun’s child. Only he,
the Sun, could strike the first blow.
 They fought the Big Giant but the Sun
dealt the first blow, with lightning.
Monster Slayer dealt the final blow and
earned the name Monster Slayer.
 Monster Slayer left to fight more
monsters, and his brother stayed behind to
take care of their mother. Monster Slayer
battled many monsters, getting help from
animals like Gopher who dug him a tunnel
for safety, and Ground Squirrel who
scouted the danger for him.

12. Monster Slayer went to
Shiprock and killed the bird
monsters that kill people
with their eyes, the bináá’
yee’ aghání, by throwing salt
into their fire and causing
sparks to fly out and blind
them.
(In another story, the Twins
sent helpful birds to fly the
Diné people to Shiprock on
their backs)
http://deathelevated.blogspot.com/2019/02/tse-
ninajaleeh-monster-bird.html
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC
BY-SA-NC

13. http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf
Monster Slayer does not kill ALL the monsters
that roam the earth. He lets some of them live:
 Old Age: He lets Old Age live so that people will
continue to have children and make way for future
generations, passing on wisdom to each generation.
 Hunger: He lets Hunger live so that people will always
savor the joy of cooking and eating.
 Cold: He lets Cold Woman live so that the Earth doesn’t
grow too hot and dry up.
 Poverty: He lets Poverty live because without Poverty,
people would no longer be creative or inventive, making
garments more useful and tools more helpful.
 Lice: He lets Lice live so that the people will continue to
be fastidious and clean their houses, bodies and clothes.

16.  In the story of the twins, the
sun puts his sons through
four tests before he gives
them weapons, just as
Nizhoni goes through tests
to earn her weapons from
the Sun. He challenges
them. What does this say
about the Diné concept of
the father’s role?
 What’s Nizhoni’s dad like?
http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf

19. http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf

20. http://www.navajocourts.org/NNPSS/Twins%20Narrative%20for%20Public%20Safety%20Summit%202018.pdf

23. Read Around the World Book Club will
meet on January 15, 2021 at 3 pm to
discuss The Turtle of Oman by Naomi
Shihab Nye!
When Aref, a third-grader who lives in Muscat, Oman,
refuses to pack his suitcase and prepare to move to
Michigan, his mother asks for help from his grandfather,
his Siddi, who takes Aref around the country, storing up
memories he can carry with him to a new home.
We will not meet in December – Have
happy and safe holidays!