In celebration of the museum’s 10th Anniversary, storyteller and author Tim Tingle (Choctaw) comes to the auditorium with stories and music on Wednesday, August 13, 2008.  Please visit the Children’s Library to read his award-winning works and please join him at 11:30 and 1:30 on August 13, for a wonderful time.

Crossing Bok Chitto, the richly illustrated picture book from Cinco Puntos Press received enthusiastic reviews from critics nationwide, including Starred Reviews in Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, and an Editor’s Choice in the New York Times. Paintings by Cherokee artist Jeanne Rorex-Bridges accent this beautiful telling of Tingle's most requested Choctaw story. Recent awards include the 2006 Teddy Award for Best Children's Book from the Texas Writer's League and the Texas Institute of Letters Best Children's Book of 2006. In winning the 2006 Oklahoma Book Award for both author and illustrator, Crossing Bok Chitto became the first book in the history of the award to win both categories and it was also selected as a 2007 ALA Notable Book.  Tim Tingle and Jeanne Rorex Bridges were awarded the American Indian Youth Literature 2008 Picture Book prize for Crossing Bok Chitto.

When Turtle Grew Feathers was released by August House in February of 2007, and has received enthusiastic reviews and great responses from reading audiences. Based on the traditional Choctaw folktale of Rabbit racing Turtle, this early childhood read-aloud book features colorful, whimsical drawings by illustrator Stacey Schuett.  

Walking the Choctaw Road, Tingle's first book, was released by Cinco Puntos Press in May of 2003. A collection of stories based on interviews with tribal elders, it was Storytelling World Magazine's Best Anthology for 2003. Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma selected Walking the Choctaw Road as Book of the Year for 2005, as did Alaska Reads!, marking the first time in the history of the one-book-one-state movement that a single book has been selected by two states in the same year.