From: Alixwrites_at_aol.com
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:12:09 -0500 (EST)

Regarding Season of Gifts: Maybe I was misreading it (and I'm sure others

will enlighten me if I am), but in light of the fact that Granny Dowdel was presented as a trickster in the first two tomes, I was under the impression that neither the ghost nor the bones were actually meant to hav e existed (and that her property was probably not even on a Kickapoo Burial Ground at all) but rather, were a trick played by Granny on the ignorant townspeople

1) to get the teens out of her melon patch; 2) to make money selling feathers and other trinkets from the alleged haunted burial ground; and 3) to publicize the narrator's father's church. Granny was a huckster to rival P.T. Barnum. This reminded me of the "ghost" of Shotgun Cheatum in the first

novel, A Long Way from Chicago, where Granny convinced her neighbors they

were seeing his corpse come alive. In this novel, we are eventually told

that the narrator's mother was helping Granny out so that it would appear that someone other than Granny was out in her field, again leading to the conclusion that the ghost was fake.

If Granny was making up the Kickapoo Burial Ground, the ghost, and the bones (which the narrator never sees, but rather, which Peck takes pains to point out are presented to the narrator's father in a closed box for buria l) in order to take advantage of the townspeople's ignorance in believing th at the Native Americans were coming back to haunt them, wouldn't that merely

be pointing up the ignorant attitudes of white people toward Native Americans at that time, rather than actually stereotyping Native American s?

Much of this (such as the presentation of the closed box and the revelatio n of Granny's profit in selling feathers) likely took place in the portion

of the book which you didn't read. This is why I believe it is important to read the entire book before making any criticism, whatever the criticism

may be.

Best, Alexandra Flinn _www.alexflinn.com_ (http://www.alexflinn.com/)

A Kiss in Time (HarperCollins, 2009) "Flinn builds a credible romance around two vastly different (and highly

entertaining) characters, injects a little magic and chivalry into the modern world, and lightly explores concepts of love and fate—all on the road to a satisfying 'happily ever after.'" --Horn Book

In a message dated 11/7/2009 9:41:27 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, debreese_at_illinois.edu writes:

Richard Peck's A SEASON OF GIFTS pe cks-season-of-gifts.html_ pecks-season-of-gifts.html)
Received on Sat 07 Nov 2009 10:12:09 AM CST