tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post8013795950882093092..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): Teaching Van Camp's THE LESSER BLESSEDDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-46499648781989705222009-03-19T16:57:00.000-05:002009-03-19T16:57:00.000-05:00The first book we read in Native American Children...The first book we read in Native American Children’s Literature was, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie. The book grasped my attention from line one. I read the entire book within a day! Alexie had a great way of portraying life on the reservation, and showing how one particular boy, Junior, had to cope with leaving his Native school to go to a “white school.” The book wowed me with its funny cartoons, and a middle school boy’s tone of voice. By reading this book, I came to understand more of what life is like in a modern day sense on a reservation. Everyone on the reservation is very close; the book uses the phrase that everyone knows everyone! Everyone knows your mother’s name, father’s name, cat’s name, etc. I found it very interesting that Junior felt as if he had seen 100 deaths in his lifetime, and most all were due to alcoholism. I did not understand the real affects of alcohol on the Native American community until reading this book. I was intrigued by Alexie’s way of describing Junior’s family, and the friends of the family. Everyone in his family supported him for getting off the reservation. We have watched many videos in class, and one thing that popped out in “When Our Hands are Tied” was the fact that most young people do want to and in most cases have to get off the reservation to get a job, make money, and do better for themselves. Alexie shows Junior wanting to do just that. Overall the book was a success, and I was pleased with the book from the start until the end. I cannot wait to read more of Alexie’s works, and I am anxious to understand more about the Native American communities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com