More on HOW THE MOON REGAINED HER SHAPE

Earlier this month, I posted Beverly Slapin's review of How the Moon Regained Her Shape.

I have a copy of How the Moon Regained Her Shape now and am posting my thoughts today. Back in August of 2006, I received an email from Sylvan Dell Publishing, that described several of their books. The email subject line was "Science and Math through Literature for young children." I read thru the email, and saw there was a book listed there called How the Moon Regained Her Shape.

I requested a copy, and began a brief correspondence with an editor at Sylvan Dell Publishing. The book, she noted, was based on traditional Native stories, but not from a specific tribe or its stories. I replied that such books are a concern to me. There are too many books out there that "draw on" or are "based on" stories from an assortment of Native nations as though our ways are interchangeable. What this does is force-fit hundreds of nations into a single, stereotypical, image. It doesn't challenge people to move beyond a generic stereotypical image.

Reviewers like Heller's book because of its theme: bullying. The sun, in Heller's story, bullies the moon. In fact, there is a note on the final page of the book that says:

Bullies: In this story, the sun bullies the moon. A bully is someone who is mean or hurts other children either physically or verbally. Sometimes the bully acts this way to get something or to feel important. Children who are being bullied often need the help and support of their friends, just as the moon does in this story.

As I read reviews and the author's note, I am reminded that fans of Touching Spirit Bear say its strength is that it helps kids learn and understand bullying and the consequences of bullying. The fact that it gets so much wrong about Tlingit culture is inconsequential--to them. The bullying theme is far more important---to them. Ironically, I think we can call this dismissal of Native objections to misrepresentation a form of bullying!

I anticipate that fans of How the Moon Regained Her Shape will say that its use to teach about the moon, or, to teach about bullying, are more important than the mess it makes of Native culture. They might even say that we Natives ought to feel good that our culture is used in such good ways.

Americans. Love. Indians. Or rather, some (most?) Americans love their imagined Indians. Real Native people that object to how Native peoples are portrayed? Not loved as much, if at all.

How the Moon Regained Her Shape is a success in the book world. The American Booksellers Association listed it as a "Book Sense Children's Pick" in 2006. It is listed in both, the "Accelerated Reader" and "Reading Counts" programs.

I object.

And you, teachers, should, too. For critique of the content, read Beverly Slapin's review.

Beverly Slapin's Review of Janet Ruth Heller's HOW THE MOON REGAINED HER SHAPE

[Editor's Note: This review used by permission of Beverly Slapin, and may not be published elsewhere without her written permission.]

---------------------------------------------------------------

Heller, Janet Ruth, How the Moon Regained Her Shape, illustrated by Ben Hodson. Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2006. Unpaginated, grades 1-3

Every time I say (or even think), “This is the stupidest book I’ve ever read,” along comes something even worse. Cosmic justice, maybe. Punishment for using hyperbole. 

From the jacket copy:

From the days of early humans, people have used folklore to explain why events of nature occur.

No. Oral stories are not just any old things made up by an individual on a whim; they are told and retold for many generations to document scientific and historical events, and to teach children and adults respect for the environment and their responsibilities in stewardship for the land. Teaching stories also contain lessons about safety, courage, and proper behavior.

From the jacket copy: 

Influenced by Native American folktales, this fascinating story explains the phases of the moon, while providing a life lesson for children as they observe how the moon was able to overcome adversity and build self-confidence.

No. There is no such thing as a “Native American folktale.” There are Hopi stories, Lakota stories, Abenaki stories, Anishinaabe stories. Stories belong to specific Native nations, or clans, families, or individuals within those nations. Moreover, I sincerely doubt that there has ever been an oral story about the moon “overcoming adversity and building self-confidence.” Certain elements of creation, such as Moon, Sun, Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, are sacred. They don’t overcome adversity because there is no adversity for them to overcome. They don’t build self-confidence because the need for “self-confidence” is a European-American cultural marker.

From the jacket copy:

After the sun insults her, the moon is very hurt and disappears—much to the chagrin of rabbits who miss their moonlight romps.

No. Sun and Moon do not behave that way towards each other; rather, in oral stories, their relationship with each other and with Earth are complementary. Although rabbits have been seen to romp, they mostly come out at dusk to mate and look for food. As prey animals with non-stereoscopic vision, lagomorphs tend to be pretty serious.

From the jacket copy:

With the help of her many friends and admirers, the moon regains her self-confidence until she is back to her full size.

No. The whole idea that Moon looks for wisdom among humans is disconnected from anything it purports to be based on. Even Disney, whose animal characters are pretty damned anthropomorphic, doesn’t have them coming to humans for “self-confidence.”

The artwork, if you really have to call it that, was done with acrylic paints, handmade papers, wallpaper, pencil crayons, gesso, ink, and glue on watercolor paper. The result is some kind of faux-Pueblo design elements (Moon looks kind of like Kokopelli without his, uh, flute) and the Indian characters (“Round Arms,” a kind of zaftig woman, and “Painted Deer,” a kind of artist who paints his face and wears feathers standing straight up) appear to have been executed by an Indian wannabe on happy pills.

I guess it could be said that “author,” “artist,” and “publisher” would have had to have astronomical chutzpah to bring this thing out. No, wait! Stop! I didn’t say that! What I meant was: “This is a pretty bad book.”

—Beverly Slapin