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INDIAN BOYHOOD

Name: INDIAN BOYHOOD
Author: Charles Eastman
ISBN: 978-1-937786-56-4

THE TRUE STORY OF A SIOUX UPBRINGING

by Charles Eastman ; adapted by Michael Oren Fitzgerald ; illustrated by Heidi M. Rasch ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2016

Notable for its content more than its execution, this book nevertheless deserves recognition given the relative scarcity of...

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This rare firsthand memoir of late-19th-century Santee Dakota life offers a valuable counterpoint to inaccurate and biased accounts of Native American civilizations told by outsiders.

Ohiyesa (1858-1939), also known as Charles Alexander Eastman, wrote 11 books, the first of which was the 1902 account of his youth until age 15, Indian Boyhood. Greatly condensed and simplified for younger readers, this version includes memories of daily life—childhood games, traditional skills and lore learned from elders, times of feast and famine—as well as foreboding signs of changes to come, including expulsion from their land at gunpoint, the capture by the U.S. Army of Ohiyesa’s father and brothers, the incursion of the railroads. Ohiyesa’s original prose was majestic and lyrical, with rich cultural details brought vividly to life over the course of a novel-length work. This 34-page offering is bland by comparison, though intriguing details of a tame grizzly bear and grueling practice for becoming a warrior may inspire curious readers to pick up Ohiyesa’s classic. Detailed notes show the care that was taken to achieve historical accuracy in the illustrations, which unfortunately suffer from inconsistent and awkward proportions.

Notable for its content more than its execution, this book nevertheless deserves recognition given the relative scarcity of historical works that give voice to Native writers. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-937786-56-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Wisdom Tales

Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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LONG, TALL LINCOLN

by Jennifer Dussling ; illustrated by Chin Ko ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017

A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures.

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Abraham Lincoln’s ascent to the presidency is recounted in a fluid, easy-to-read biography for early readers.

Simple, direct sentences stress Lincoln’s humble upbringing, his honesty, and his devotion to acting with moral conviction. “Lincoln didn’t seem like a man who would be president one day. But he studied hard and became a lawyer. He cared about people and about justice.” Slavery and Lincoln’s signature achievement of emancipation are explained in broad yet defined, understandable analogies. “At that time, in the South, the law let white people own black people, just as they owned a house or a horse.” Readers are clearly given the president’s perspective through some documented memorable quotes from his own letters. “Lincoln did not like slavery. ‘If slavery is not wrong,’ he wrote to a friend ‘nothing is wrong.’ ” (The text does not clarify that this letter was written in 1865 and not before he ascended to the presidency, as implied by the book.) As the war goes on and Lincoln makes his decision to free the slaves in the “Southern states”—“a bold move”—Lincoln’s own words describe his thinking: “ ‘If my name ever goes into history,’ Lincoln said, ‘it will be for this act.’ ” A very basic timeline, which mentions the assassination unaddressed in the text, is followed by backmatter providing photographs, slightly more detailed historical information, and legacy. It’s a pity that the text is accompanied by unremarkable, rudimentary opaque paintings.

A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures. (Informational early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 20, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-06-243256-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE

by Tomie dePaola ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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The legions of fans who over the years have enjoyed dePaola’s autobiographical picture books will welcome this longer gathering of reminiscences. Writing in an authentically childlike voice, he describes watching the new house his father was building go up despite a succession of disasters, from a brush fire to the hurricane of 1938. Meanwhile, he also introduces family, friends, and neighbors, adds Nana Fall River to his already well-known Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs, remembers his first day of school (“ ‘ When do we learn to read?’ I asked. ‘Oh, we don’t learn how to read in kindergarten. We learn to read next year, in first grade.’ ‘Fine,’ I said. ‘I’ll be back next year.’ And I walked right out of school.”), recalls holidays, and explains his indignation when the plot of Disney’s “Snow White” doesn’t match the story he knows. Generously illustrated with vignettes and larger scenes, this cheery, well-knit narrative proves that an old dog can learn new tricks, and learn them surpassingly well. (Autobiography. 7-9)