CCBC-Net Archives
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Robin Smith <smithr>
Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 12:56:50 -0500
Good news for all!
A few years ago, when The Birchbark House was a new book, I decided to read it aloud to my second graders. I knew it would be a bit rough going and I knew it was going to be a stretch, but so many of them had independently read The Little House on the Prairie that I thought they would have enough historical background to work with. It was, without question, the book that the children remembered most and loved the best. I did not read it the next year and what a hullaballoo followed. The siblings were outraged that their brothers and sisters would not get to hear it. You would have thought I had outlawed candy or something! When I asked them what they liked about it, they could still remember Omakayas and Neewo and every minor character. Smallpox was in the news and they made connections between the smallpox epidemic and biological warfare talk. They all mentioned that they had never really thought about what it would feel like to have someone move onto your land and just set up villages. I was convinced. So, the next year, I read it again, with similar success. Phew.
I decided that the book would go along well with the 4th grade areas of study and that the reading level, though challenging, would be fine for fourth grade. This is the first year the fourth graders have read it as a class novel and the children and teachers loved the book. They all loved the rich language, complicated characters and the historical setting. So many books that tackle westward expansion are problematic--stereotypes abound and the temptation to lump all native people together makes for some pretty racist reading. And the illustrations on some of the older books...well, the less said about loincloths, warpaint, and feathered headbands, the better. We have covered this topic here (a number of years ago), so I won't rehash all the points we made.
If you missed this book before--read it now. And, by the way, the audio book is lovely, too. It really helps to hear the Ojibway words pronounced correctly.
Robin Smith The Ensworth School Nashville, TN 37205
Message----From: Weikum, Tara [mailto:Tara.Weikum at HARPERCOLLINS.com] Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 11:18 AM To: Jonathan Hunt; Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich is indeed continuing the story begun in THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE, and the new books will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books as a series of three trilogies spanning 100 years in the life of the Ojibwe Nation. THE GAME OF SILENCE features Omakayas from THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE as a ten-year-old, and it will be published in Spring 2005. It will be followed by a third novel about Omakayas. The next three books in the series will be about Omakayas's son, and the final three will be about her granddaughter.
Message----From: Jonathan Hunt [mailto:jhunt24 at hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 12:02 PM To: Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: [Spam] Re: [ccbc-net] The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
When THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE was published, I seem to remember that it was supposed to be the first in a series of four books. Does anybody else remember this? Does anyone know why they haven't happened yet?
Jonathan
_________________________________________________________________ Watch LIVE baseball games on your computer with MLB.TV, included with MSN Premium! http://join.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200439ave/direct/01/
~ ~ ~ To send a reply to the entire CCBC-Net community,click on...
mailto:ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu To send a request to remove your address from the mailing list, click on...
mailto:ccbc-net-unsub at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
********************************************************************** This message is intended only for the use of the individuals to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this transmission in error; any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this transmission is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message and all of its attachments.
~ ~ ~ To send a reply to the entire CCBC-Net community,click on...
mailto:ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu To send a request to remove your address from the mailing list, click on...
mailto:ccbc-net-unsub at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Received on Fri 21 May 2004 12:56:50 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 12:56:50 -0500
Good news for all!
A few years ago, when The Birchbark House was a new book, I decided to read it aloud to my second graders. I knew it would be a bit rough going and I knew it was going to be a stretch, but so many of them had independently read The Little House on the Prairie that I thought they would have enough historical background to work with. It was, without question, the book that the children remembered most and loved the best. I did not read it the next year and what a hullaballoo followed. The siblings were outraged that their brothers and sisters would not get to hear it. You would have thought I had outlawed candy or something! When I asked them what they liked about it, they could still remember Omakayas and Neewo and every minor character. Smallpox was in the news and they made connections between the smallpox epidemic and biological warfare talk. They all mentioned that they had never really thought about what it would feel like to have someone move onto your land and just set up villages. I was convinced. So, the next year, I read it again, with similar success. Phew.
I decided that the book would go along well with the 4th grade areas of study and that the reading level, though challenging, would be fine for fourth grade. This is the first year the fourth graders have read it as a class novel and the children and teachers loved the book. They all loved the rich language, complicated characters and the historical setting. So many books that tackle westward expansion are problematic--stereotypes abound and the temptation to lump all native people together makes for some pretty racist reading. And the illustrations on some of the older books...well, the less said about loincloths, warpaint, and feathered headbands, the better. We have covered this topic here (a number of years ago), so I won't rehash all the points we made.
If you missed this book before--read it now. And, by the way, the audio book is lovely, too. It really helps to hear the Ojibway words pronounced correctly.
Robin Smith The Ensworth School Nashville, TN 37205
Message----From: Weikum, Tara [mailto:Tara.Weikum at HARPERCOLLINS.com] Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 11:18 AM To: Jonathan Hunt; Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich is indeed continuing the story begun in THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE, and the new books will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books as a series of three trilogies spanning 100 years in the life of the Ojibwe Nation. THE GAME OF SILENCE features Omakayas from THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE as a ten-year-old, and it will be published in Spring 2005. It will be followed by a third novel about Omakayas. The next three books in the series will be about Omakayas's son, and the final three will be about her granddaughter.
Message----From: Jonathan Hunt [mailto:jhunt24 at hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 12:02 PM To: Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: [Spam] Re: [ccbc-net] The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
When THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE was published, I seem to remember that it was supposed to be the first in a series of four books. Does anybody else remember this? Does anyone know why they haven't happened yet?
Jonathan
_________________________________________________________________ Watch LIVE baseball games on your computer with MLB.TV, included with MSN Premium! http://join.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200439ave/direct/01/
~ ~ ~ To send a reply to the entire CCBC-Net community,click on...
mailto:ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu To send a request to remove your address from the mailing list, click on...
mailto:ccbc-net-unsub at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
********************************************************************** This message is intended only for the use of the individuals to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this transmission in error; any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this transmission is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message and all of its attachments.
~ ~ ~ To send a reply to the entire CCBC-Net community,click on...
mailto:ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu To send a request to remove your address from the mailing list, click on...
mailto:ccbc-net-unsub at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Received on Fri 21 May 2004 12:56:50 PM CDT
