This girl is the first of a series about a girl named Kaya'aton'my', or Kaya for short. The story takes place in 1764, forty years before the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She is a member of the Nez Perce tribe, the story reflects many of its traditions. From smoking fish, to seasonal migrations and religious beliefs, this book is packed with accurate historical information, and offers the reader the opportunity to explore Pre-European American life through a first person perspective.
Kaya is an adventurous little girl who lets her bragging get her into trouble. She gains the nickname "magpie" because she is viewed by others as only caring for herself. She tries many different ways to lose this nickname, and in the process, almost every page of the book has an important life lesson. For example, as Kaya learns of the mysterious disease (smallpox) that has been affecting many other villages, and killing many and scarring others, the book states "Kaya was ashamed to be worrying about an unpleasant nickname when so much suffering had come to others". Another example is when Kaya has difficulty learning how to ride her her horse, while training it to trust her. After much frustration, her father explains to that "...no one is born knowing how to ride...you have to respect the horse...it takes a lot of work to learn what we need to know in this life". These are lessons that many adults have yet to learn, and as the reader gains historical insight on an often ignored side of American history, they can benefit from personal growth.
The final chapter of this book is non-fiction introduction to the Nez Perce culture of both past and present. One major aspect of this chapter is that Native Americans are not locked in the past. We typically learn that Native Americans were the weaker group that was run out and lost to history long ago, and this chapter directly address that issue. It describes their lives before Westward Expansion, and continues to flourish long after. My favorite sentence is "Nez Perce Indians still live on reservations in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Canada, and other places within their traditional homeland, while others live throughout the country and around the world". This information is so important for children who think that native Americans are no longer around, and it is amazing to see how many kids who harbor this misconception!
The Author, Janet Shaw, is a wonderful writer who was advised by Nez Perce Tribal Elders and other members to create her story. Kidsread.com describes Ms. Shaw in an article at http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-american-girl-author.asp.
I really liked this book, and as stated before, it is one of five others in the series. This would be a great advantage to students if it was paired with a Social Studies unit on the same topic.
It sounds like this book presents a perspective we usually don't get in kids' books. I like that the author did her research and consulted with actual members of that group...it makes her book more authentic to me. I agree that the non-fiction portion is extremely important to include, but does it flow with the rest of the story?
ReplyDeleteI love the American Girl series but Kaya is a character who came after my time. It's great to see that they are incorporating stories of girls from the past who are not white, Anglo-Saxon or Protestant (when I read the books, Addy was the only sort of varying perspective the series offered). I always enjoyed the non-fiction portion at the end, especially because it usually contained pictures and further information on the real-life events discussed in the story. When I first began to read your review, I was cautious because I know Native Americans have been easily stereotyped in our general culture, but the author's authentic research did much to convince me. I never thought about teaching American Girl books in the classroom but they would be a great addition to any classroom library!
ReplyDeleteI love the American Girl series as well. It was a huge part of my childhood (I had Molly). I see children at my practicum school reading these books and carrying the dolls, so it is important for teachers to be aware of the stories and be able to discuss them with students. I am glad you mentioned that the author consulted Nez Perce Tribal Elders before writing her story. When presenting historical fiction books to children, I think it is so important that they accurately portray the time period in which they are set. While I don't think I would ever assign these books for guided reading (it would isolate the boys in the classroom!), these would be great independent reading choices to make available to students.
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