On Images of Indians in Children's Books, I've posted scans of the illustrations of the "scalp belt" in Caddie Woodlawn. There are two sets of scans. One from the earlier edition with Seredy's illustrations and one set from the later edition, with illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman.
I have yet to substantiate--to my satisfaction--the existence of a "scalp belt" as an artifact actually made or used by Native people. It does appear in fiction by non-Native people, such as Zane Grey. I'm still looking, though, so I do welcome your leads.
A special request to librarians:
Can you tell me how many copies of the book you have in your library? And, can you give me any details as to its circulation in the last year or years?
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.
16 comments:
We have 38 copies, which circulated 101 times since February 2005. In addition, we have 2 largeprint copies which circulated 13 times since February 2005.
38 copies which circulated 101 times since February 2005
2 largeprint copies which circulated 13 times since February 2005
Five copies
8 circs in the last year or so.
We have 4 copies in our library plus we have a video, which I sometimes show, and we have the audio book. Our school has grades 4-8, about 550 students in southern Illinois.
We have four copies that have circulated seven times in the past four years. We also have the video. We used to show it as part of a lesson for fourth graders, but no longer do so due to it not fitting into the standards we must meet. It's a shame because the kids really enjoyed it!
Scarlett's library has 2 copies; only 1 has circulated once in the last 10 years. I see it has many references to "savages."
We have two print copies. One that was added 4/2000 has circulated 47 times. The other was added 07/2005 and has circulated 6 times. The audio tape version was added 4/2000 nad has circulated 96 times.
43 print copies (8 libraries); 622 circs since 2004, 56 circs in 2007.
5 cassette audio book copies; 78 circs since 2004; 3 circs in 2007.
6 CD audio book copies; 83 circs since 2004; 5 circs in 2007.
McCracken County Public Library in Paducah, KY, has one copy of Caddie Woodlawn that has circulated 27 times with 6 renewals since 1995. We have one new copy on order.
We also have a non-circulating copy in our Juvenile Reference Newbery Collection.
There are also two copies of the movie in our Juvenile DVD collection that have a combined circ of 38.
I never, ever would have guessed that this book was so popular.
We have two copies, one in large print (20 circs since 2003) and one in smaller print (15 circs since 1999). Both are currently checked out.
I'm not sure that it matters that scalp belts aren't real. Perhaps the author heard about one (an urban legend), or misheard something in her youth. It's already clear that the book is problematic; one could spend years trying to figure out why Brink included the scalp belt, but I'm not sure there would be any point.
We're a university library serving a school of education. Our one copy has circulated 84 times between 1976-2004, and none since.
My library system has 25 copies of the 1935 version, which went out 432 times and 41 copies of the 1973 version, which went out 920 times. Our system also has 8 copies of the movie, which has gone out 868 times. My public library system is in western NY.
My school library has one copy, which has circulated twice in the past year and six times total since 2000.
But the book may have circulated slightly more, since we had a second copy until last spring, when I weeded it.
I have one copy, 2 circs, once in 2002 and once in 2004.
My school library has 2 copies, and they circulate many times every year since it is required reading for the 6th grade.
Post a Comment