The patience of a little musk ox is sorely tried when he suffers an itch
that he can't scratch. There's not a tree in sight--nothing to rub
against for relief--so he wanders away from the herd looking for a
branch, a rock pile, anything. On his journey, he meets with three
individuals: a buffalo, a wolf, and a Native woman. Through his
interaction with each one, he learns something new and affirming about
himself before returning to the herd. Endnotes include information about
how musk ox were native to Alaska until they were decimated by hunters
in 1865, then reintroduced in the early 1930s; biological/behavioral
details about the animals; and info about the cottage industry among
Native villages in which women knit the qiviut (KIV-ee-oot), the rare
underwool, into beautiful, warm garments. "Learn more" two-page section
provides facts and information about the animal and about qiviut, the
softest wool in the world which comes from musk ox.