Danny Blackgoat is a teenager in Navajo country when soldiers burn down his home, kill his sheep, and capture his family. During the Long Walk of 1864, Danny soon becomes a troublemaker, refusing to accept captivity. He is sent to Fort Davis, Texas, a Civil War prisoner outpost. There he battles bullies, rattlesnakes, and soldiers, until he meets Jim Davis. Davis teaches Danny how to hold his anger and how to read and speak in English. For Christmas, Davis aids Danny in a daring and dangerous escape. Set in troubled times for the Navajo, Danny Blackgoat is the story of one boy's hunger to be free.

Tim Tingle is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a frequent speaker at tribal events and the author of twelve books. His great-great-grandfather, John Carnes, walked the Trail of Tears in 1835, and memories of this family epic fuel his writing and storytelling. Tingle has lectured and performed across the United States, Canada, and Europe and is a frequent speaker at the American Library Association.