Title: ENCOUNTER
Author: Jane
Yolan
Illustrator:
David Shannon
Publisher:
Harcourt Brace & Company
Copyright: 1992
Genre: Historical
Fiction
Ethnic
Representation: Taino (Native tribe of San Salvador)
Summary: Encounter
is the story of Christopher Columbus landing on the island of San Salvador
from the perspective of a native Taino child whose home is on the island. It begins with the young boy awakening from a
bad dream about three great-winged birds with teeth only to find three
great-sailed canoes arriving to the island he calls home. These are the ships of Christopher Columbus
and his crew. Considering his dream a warning, the boy tries to alert the
chiefs not to welcome these men. He is unsuccessful in his attempt, however, and
the story continues by offering examples of how he is alternately intrigued and
then scared of these strangers. In the
end, the boy has become an old man whose dreams, culture and soul have been
stolen by the strangers and he is still offering a warning to others.
Critique: This
book would be a terrific companion to textbooks and/or social studies
curriculum that omit the voice of the people most affected by Columbus’s
arrival. I appreciated Yolan’s author’s
note in the back of the book that gives us the historical details she found in
her research. I thought one of the
book’s strengths was its use of dreams and imagery to portray the crew both
metaphorically and visually as evil. The
illustrations include details that are historically accurate, but add deeper
meaning to the text in portrayal of the conflicting emotions the boy has about
the strangers. They are rich in feeling
and emotion - good and evil are evident.
There is no hint of sympathy for Columbus in this story - it would be a
great opportunity for students to consider point of view when learning about
historical events.
Title: THE CIRLCE UNBROKEN
Author: Margot Theis Raven
Illustrator: E.B.
Lewis
Publisher: Melanie
Kroupa Books
Copyright: 2004
Genre: Realistic
fiction and Historical fiction
Ethnic Representation:
African American (Gullah)
Summary: A young
girl settles into her grandmother’s arms to learn the art of sweetgrass basket
weaving and as she learns the craft, her grandmother tells her the story of her
ancestors. As they weave, the young girl
learns about the generations of her family who also weaved by listening to
stories of her ancestors from villages in Africa, to slavery in a new land,
through wars and finally to the “sacred place” the little girl and her grandmother
share. This story celebrates generations of of the craft with pride.
Critique: This
book was one of my favorites. The
language is full of love and almost poetic like a song. There are places of rhythm and rhyme in the
text as grandmother’s voice both tells the story of ancestors and speaks to her
granddaughter. The illustrations are beautiful watercolors that show both joy
and love of family and the sadness of slavery and war. They complement the text by showing the
changes in setting, but the continuation of culture through the weaving. The
basket weaving becomes a metaphor for the knot that ties this family together.
It is both a vessel that holds the past and the future. It is a tribute to the treasured ethnicity of
this family and inspires us to consider the traditions that have sustained time
and change in all cultures and families. Lovely book!
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