CCBC-Net Archives
Birchbark House
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Kathy Whitt <kwhitt>
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 12:09:12 -0500 (CDT)
I really enjoyed reading The Birchbark House. I have not talked to any children who have read it.
In response to Eliza's comments about what makes it distinct from the Little House series, I think the big difference is what I call connectedness. The native family is very connected and part of the local community, rather than being alone in frontier surroundings as the Ingalls family was. Pa Ingalls kept moving away, while Omakayas and her family function as members of their community, even during illness. The Ingalls family took part in community events like church and maple sugaring, but mostly they survived as the Ingalls family in the face of hardship and danger. Omakayas lives in her natural environment, which is her incubator
- think about her relationship with the bears vs. Laura's experience with
"wild" animals and Indians. Omakayas emerges with her identity as healer, and she is healed from the pain of family and community loss. She knows who she is in her community and is nurtured by her healer grandmother. I find it interesting that she survives a smallpox epidemic as a baby and goes on to help with healing her family with the same disease later. The Ingalls family survives malaria in a much more separated state.
My comments on the Little House series are about the original series rather than the newer series of Little House books. I haven't read the new series although I recommend it to children in the library. I don't know if the original work has been significantly changed.
I believe that the best children's books appeal to both children and adults. The Birchbark House is universal enough to depict native life and appeal to the broader audience of modern American people, including adults. I think children would like it. I plan to give the book to my 7 and 9 year old granddaughters.
Kathy Whitt
Kathy Whitt, Director
Muehl Public Library, Seymour, Wisconsin
Kwhitt at owls.lib.wi.us
"I've got so many brains I haven't used some of them yet."
--Gracie Allen
Received on Tue 05 Oct 1999 12:09:12 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 12:09:12 -0500 (CDT)
I really enjoyed reading The Birchbark House. I have not talked to any children who have read it.
In response to Eliza's comments about what makes it distinct from the Little House series, I think the big difference is what I call connectedness. The native family is very connected and part of the local community, rather than being alone in frontier surroundings as the Ingalls family was. Pa Ingalls kept moving away, while Omakayas and her family function as members of their community, even during illness. The Ingalls family took part in community events like church and maple sugaring, but mostly they survived as the Ingalls family in the face of hardship and danger. Omakayas lives in her natural environment, which is her incubator
- think about her relationship with the bears vs. Laura's experience with
"wild" animals and Indians. Omakayas emerges with her identity as healer, and she is healed from the pain of family and community loss. She knows who she is in her community and is nurtured by her healer grandmother. I find it interesting that she survives a smallpox epidemic as a baby and goes on to help with healing her family with the same disease later. The Ingalls family survives malaria in a much more separated state.
My comments on the Little House series are about the original series rather than the newer series of Little House books. I haven't read the new series although I recommend it to children in the library. I don't know if the original work has been significantly changed.
I believe that the best children's books appeal to both children and adults. The Birchbark House is universal enough to depict native life and appeal to the broader audience of modern American people, including adults. I think children would like it. I plan to give the book to my 7 and 9 year old granddaughters.
Kathy Whitt
Kathy Whitt, Director
Muehl Public Library, Seymour, Wisconsin
Kwhitt at owls.lib.wi.us
"I've got so many brains I haven't used some of them yet."
--Gracie Allen
Received on Tue 05 Oct 1999 12:09:12 PM CDT
