Prairie
Memoirs
Close your eyes: Envision vast grasslands with thousands of bison
grazing, their dark brown fur glistens in the sunlight. Feel the sweet, spring
breeze blow across your face. Smell the damp grass and wildflowers. This is the
scene that would have met you if you had been a settler on the Great Plains of
North America in the 19th century. An estimated 60 million bison
once roamed the vast prairies that stretched from Canada to Texas west of the
Mississippi River. Native American tribes were dependent upon these vast herds
of bison for meat, shelter, and clothing. With the arrival of settlers from the
East the delicate balance of bison, prairie, and indigenous life was upset. Use
Project WILD’s “Prairie Memoirs” to
explore this event from several different viewpoints.
Iowa Extension
As a class, research settlers, bison, prairies, and native life in Iowa at
the time of European settlement - use journal entries, old photographs, and
other resources to paint a picture of what life would have been like for all
involved at that time in Iowa’s history. How did cultural factors influence
people’s relationship to the land, plants, and wildlife?
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Arnosky, J. 2006. Grandfather Buffalo. Penguin Group (USA).
Bannatyne-Cugnet, J. 1992. Prairie Alphabet. Tundra.
Butterfield, M. 1999. Animals on Plains and Prairies. Raintree
Publishers.
Cefrey, H. 2003. Grasslands. Rosen Publishing Group,
Incorporated.
Fleming, D. 1991. In the Tall, Tall Grass. Henry Holt and Co.
Fowler, A. 2000. Lands of Grass. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Geisert, A. 1998. Prairie Town. Walter Lorraine Books.
Hazelwood, D., and R. Dobbins. 2010. Bison
at Hollow Hill. Mirror Publishing.
Hirschi, R. 1992. Where Are My Prairie Dogs and Black-Footed Ferrets?
Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers.
Hirschi,R. 1989. Who Lives On The Prairie? Putnam Publishing
Group.
Howard, F. 2006. Grasslands. ABDO Publishing Company.
Jones, D.M. 2012. Bison Babies.
Farcountry Press.
Larson, J. S. 2006. Mighty Bison. Lerner
Publishing Group.
Lerner, C. 1980. Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie. William Morrow
& Co Library.
Mader, J. 2004. Living on a Prairie. Scholastic Library
Publishing.
Magby, M. 2012. American Bison. The
Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
McGehee, C. 2004. A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet. University of
Iowa Press.
McMillan, B. 1986. Counting Wildflowers. New York: Lothrop, Lee,
& Shepard Books.
Nichols, C. 2002. Grassy Lands. Benchmark Books.
Penny, M. 2003. Grasslands. Thameside Press.
Reynolds, M. 1999. Prairie Fire. Orca Book Publishers.
Rowan, J.P. 1983. Prairies and Grasslands. Scholastic Library
Publishing.
Grades 3-5
Arnold, C. 1993. Through the Year with - Prairie Dogs.
Scholastic, Inc.
Arnosky, J. 2006. Grandfather Buffalo. Penguin Group (USA).
Bannatyne-Cugnet, J. 2002. Heartland: A Prairie Sampler. Tundra.
Bouchard, D. 1998. If You're Not from the Prairie. Simon &
Schuster Children's Publishing.
Bright, M. 2002. Endangered and Extinct Animals of the Mountains,
Deserts, and Grasslands. Millbrook Press, Inc.
Chinery, M. 1992. Grassland Animals. Random House Books for Young
Readers.
Cole, M.S. 2003. Prairies. Thomson Gale.
Cook, K.J. 1993. Disappearing Grasslands. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Dvorak Jr., D. 1994. A Sea of Grass.
New York: Macmillan.
Erlic, L. 2005. Grasslands. Weigl Publishers, Incorporated.
George, M. 1994. Prairie. Creative Company.
Gray, S.H. 2000. Grasslands. Capstone Press.
Horton, C. 1982. Grasslands and People. Silver Burdett Press.
Horton, C. 1985. Grasslands. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Jackson, K. and S. Mather. 2006. Explore the Grasslands. Capstone
Press.
Johansson, P. 2004. Wide Open Grasslands: A Web of Life. Enslow
Publishers, Incorporated.
Johnson, R.L., P.V. Saroff and G. Braasch. 2000. A Walk
in the Prairie. Lerner Publishing Group.
Johnson, S.A. 1976. Animals of the Grasslands. Lerner Publishing
Group.
Khanduri, K. 1994. Grassland Wildlife. EDC Publishing.
Lambert, D. 1988. Grasslands. Silver Burdett Press.
Langley, A. 1993. Grasslands. Reader's Digest Children's
Publishing, Incorporated.
Langley, A. 1993. Grasslands. Reader's Digest Children's
Publishing, Incorporated.
Lynch, W. and A. Lang. 2006. Prairie Grasslands. T&N
Children's Publishing.
Patent, D.H. 1996. Prairies. Holiday House.
Patent, D.H. 1998. Fire: Friend or Foe. Clarion Books.
Patent, D.H. 2003. Life in a Grassland. Lerner Publishing Group.
Pipes, R. 1998. Grasslands. Raintree Publishers.
Savage, S. 1997. Animals of the Grasslands. Raintree Publishers.
St. Antoine, S. 2001. Stories from Where We Live -- The Great North
American Prairie. Milkweed Editions.
Staub, F. 1993. America's Prairies. Lerner Publishing Group.
Thompson, L. 2004. People of the Plains and Prairies. Rourke
Publishing, LLC.
Wallace, M.D. 2001. America's Prairies and Grasslands: Guide to
Plants and Animals. Fulcrum Publishing.
Winner, C, and J.F. McGee. 2001. Bison.
Cooper Square Publishing.
Winner, C. 2004. Prairie Animals. T&N Children's Publishing.
Grades 6-8
Busch, P.S. 1977. Wildflowers and the Stories Behind Their Names.
Charles Scribner & Sons.
Collard, S.B. 2005. Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America’s Lost
Grasslands. Houghton Mifflin.
Gish, M. 2012. Bison. The
Creative Company.
Hoare, B. 2003. Temperate Grasslands. Raintree Publishers.
Lerner, C. 1980. Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie. New York:
William Morrow and Company.
Murray, P. 1997. Prairies: Biomes of Nature. The Child' World
Inc.
Ricciuti, E.R. 1996. Grassland. Marshall Cavendish Inc.
Rotter, C. 2002. The Prairie. Creative Company.
Runkel, S. and D.M. Roosa. 1989. Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie.
Ames: Iowa State University Press.
Scullin, W. M. 2005. Young Person's Guide to the Prairie. South
River Press.
Siy, A. 1991. Native Grasslands. Silver Burdett Press.
Stone, L.M. 1989. Prairies. Rourke Enterprises, Incorporated.
Toupin, L.P. 2005. Life in the Temperate Grasslands. Scholastic
Library Publishing.
Vyn, K. 1978. The Prairie Community. New York: Julian Messener.
Grades 9-12
Boon, W. and H. Groe. 1990. Nature's Heartland: Native Plant
Communities of the Great Plains. Ames:
Brown, L. 1979. Grasses: An Identification Guide. Houghton
Mifflin Co.
Christiansen, P. and M. Muller. 1999. An Illustrated Guide to Iowa
Prairie Plants. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
Collard, S. B. 2005. The Prairie Builders :
Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands. Boston: Edsall, M.S.
1985. Roadside Plants and Flowers. Madison: The University of Wisconsin
Press.
Fitzgerald, D., and L. M. Hasselstrom. 1998. Bison: Monarch of the Plains. Graphic Arts Ctr Pub Co.
Forey, P. and C. Fitzsimons. 1992. Instant Guide to Wildflowers.
Random House Value Publishing, Incorporated.
Gruenau, D., D. Peacock, and S. Fuller. 1995. Bison: Distant Thunder. Takarajima Books.
Isenberg, A.C., and D. Worster. 2001. The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920. Cambridge
University Press.
Johnsgard, P.A. 2001. Prairie Birds: Fragile Splendor in the Great
Plains. University Press of Kansas.
Johnsgard, P.A. 2005. Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass
Prairie. University of Nebraska Press.
Kindscher, K. 1992. Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An
Ethnobotanical Guide. University Press of Kansas.
Kirt, R.R. 1995. Prairie Plants of the Midwest: Identification and
Ecology. Stipes Publishing, L.L.C.
Kurtz, C. 1996. Iowa's Wild Places. Ames: Iowa State University
Press.
Ladd, D. 2005. Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers: A Field Guide to the
Common Wildflowers and Plants of the Prairie Midwest. Globe Pequot Press.
Madson, J. 1994. Where the Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie.
Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
Manning, R. 1997. Grassland: The History, Biology, Politics, and Promise
of the American Prairie. Penguin Group.
Moul, F. 2006. The National Grasslands: A Guide to America's
Undiscovered Treasures. University of Nebraska Press.
Muller, M. 2000. Prairie in Your Pocket: A Guide to Plants of the
Tallgrass Prairie. University of Iowa Press.
Packard, S. 2005. Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies,
Savannas, and Woodlands. Island Press.
Sample, M. S. 1987. Bison: Symbol
of the American West. Globe Pequot Press.
Sherow, J.E. 2007. The Grasslands of the United States: An
Environmental History. ABC-CLIO, Incorporated.
Shirley, S.1994. Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie : An
Illustrated Manual for Iowa and the Upper Midwest. New York: University of
Iowa P.
Waterlow, J. 1996. Grasslands. Raintree Publishers.
Links
IDNR – Iowa’s Prairie
Resource Center
Iowa Prairie
Network
IAN Iowa’s
Biological Communities Series - Iowa Prairies
NPS – Iowa’s
Prairie Heritage on Display April 29 to May 28
IPTV Iowa
Pathways – The First Farmers
Iowa Official
Register – History of Iowa
IPTV Iowa Pathways
– Explore Iowa History
Explorations in
Iowa History Project
Access Genealogy – Iowa Indian Tribes
The Nature Conservancy – Reintroduction of Bison to Iowa:
Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve
A Brief Culture History of Iowa
Buffalo Tales: The Near-Extermination of the American Bison
