Note on page design: When I started this blog, I used white text on black background because web-design books said that is easier on the eyes. But, I've decided I like the crisp feeling of white background, so I'm making some changes to the template. I may goof things up as I do this, so please bear with me!
Two readers have written to ask about two different books, wondering if I've read them, or know of any critical reviews of them. The two are Indian Captive by Lois Lensky, and When the Legends Die, by Hal Borland.
It is likely that I read both as a kid, but don't have a clear memory of either one. I do have a copy of Indian Captive, but haven't read it yet. Neither book is reviewed in A Broken Flute, but they may be in Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children . My copy is at my campus office, and I'm working from home right now. Perhaps a reader who has a copy handy can use the "comments" option and tell us if either book is reviewed in Through Indian Eyes.
There are a couple of other on-line resources with reviews of children's books about American Indians. Here's links to them:
Native American Books
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html
"A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians for K-12," on the Smithsonian website. It is pretty extensive, and is arranged by geographical area.
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/outreach/Indbibl/index.html
Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016.
2 comments:
I realize that your focus is literature, but of interest to me is how the stories and histories of Native American tribes (and other groups) are treated in history classes, if at all. I'm a public school teacher and have taught history, and I have found very cursory treatments of the histories of Native American groups. Also, since very few questions on our state and federally-mandated standardized tests deal with Native American history, there has been a resultant drop in the amount of information that is taught. Anyway, I will keep reading your blog and will recommend it to colleagues in the primary schools! Thanks.
Yes, thanks very much, will be looking forward to comments on the Lenski book, as it is quite detailed in its descriptions and explanations of Native American life. The problem is that I have no way of really gauging how accurate any of it is. It is fictionalized to a great degree.
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