Kindred Spirits: Shilombish Ittibachvffa

Leslie Stall Widener is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She has illustrated six Choctaw-related picture books: Chukfi Rabbit’s Big, Bad Bellyache; The Turkey Who Liked to Show Off; Why the Turtle Has Cracks on His Back; The Story of Tanchi; Why the Possum Has No Hair on His Tail; and Why Rabbit Has a Short Tail. Leslie lives in McKinney, Texas, with her artist husband, Terry Widener.

Born on the Navajo Nation in Pinon, Arizona, Johnson Yazzie’s interest in creation began in childhood and led to a lifelong career in fine art as a painter, bronze sculptor, and illustrator. Johnson illustrated Yossel’s Journey by Kathryn Lasky. The Navajo word hózhó means balance, harmony, beauty. It is the word by which he lives.