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Monday, July 03, 2006

Joy Harjo's THE GOOD LUCK CAT

In my "links" I include links to Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog and her website. She's got some terrific books (Jingle Dancer, Rain is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes).

Today I want to point readers to Joy Harjo's blog.

Harjo is an accomplished writer, singer, and musician. Though her work is primarily for an adult audience (and in some cases young adults), she does have a wonderful children's picture book out.

Take a look at The Good Luck Cat. Published in 2000, it is about a cat named Woogie who brings good luck to its family. The story is about the cat---not about the Native family it lives with. In a beautiful and subtle way, this book tells readers that American Indians live in today's modern society, that our lives and homes are not exotic. We're just people.
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousTuesday, July 4, 2006 at 7:50:00 PM CDT

    Hi Debbie,

    I've been following as many of your postings to the ChildLit listserve for a few years, and have read many of your articles during research while I was doing my MLIS, and I am so excited to see that you are creating this blog to share your wisdom and knowledge about American Indians in Children's Literature.

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge in this format - I look forward to regularly following your blog.

    Julie in Canada

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFriday, October 13, 2006 at 11:40:00 PM CDT

    I agree. I've seen this story and I loved it. I wanted to go back and look for it but couldn't remember the name of the author... Imagine that eh!! But now I want to go back and look for it again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MiriamSaturday, July 25, 2009 at 5:05:00 PM CDT

    I got this book for my niece (at the time, 3 years old); it became one of her favorite books. While I picked it up largely for how it represents the American Indian family whose cat it is (and because I like Harjo's poetry), my niece just loved the story and pictures. So, I'd say it's recommended from all angles!

    ReplyDelete


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