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Re: Richard Peck's SEASON OF GIFTS
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From: Wendy Burton <burtonwl_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:35:59 -0800 (PST)
(I can't quite remember the rules about off-topic posting here, so if this isn't appropriate, please let me know.)
Alix, you weren't misreading the book about the bones being fake and the entire thing being a hoax, but I did read the whole book (I think Debbie might have mentioned somewhere tha t she did finish it later?) and I did think those passages were offensive ( to put it simply; my view is more complex than just that, of course). I'll be writing a blog post about it sometime, but there's a lot of discussion about this book on the Heavy Medal blog, with people weighing in on both si des of the issue. It starts with this post: http://www.schoollibraryjourna l.com/blog/560000656/post/1110049311.html and continues on for several more
--- On Sat, 11/7/09, Alixwrites_at_aol.com wrote:
=
From: Alixwrites_at_aol.com
Subject: Re:
Richard Peck's SEASON OF GIFTS
To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.eduDate: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 7:12 AM
Regarding Season of Gifts: Maybe I was misreading it
(and I'msure
othersВ 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 wasВ under the
impression that neither the ghost nor the bones were
actually meant to have
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; and3) to publicize the
narrator's father's church.В Granny was a
huckster to rival P.T.
Barnum.В This reminded me ofВ 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.В 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
leadingto the conclusion
that the ghost was fake.В В
В
If Granny was making up the Kickapoo Burial Ground,
the ghost, and thebones (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 burial) in
order to take advantage of the townspeople's ignorance
in believing that 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
Americans?В
В
Much of this (such as the presentation of the closed
box and the revelation
of Granny's profit in selling feathers) likely took
place in the portion of the
book which you didn't read.В This is why I believe
it is important to read
the entire book before making any criticism, whatever the
criticism may
be.
В
Best,
Alexandra Flinn
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
В
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
http://americanindiansinchildre nsliterature.blogspot.com/2009/09/richard-pecks-season-of-gifts.html
--=
Received on Sat 07 Nov 2009 08:35:59 AM CST
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:35:59 -0800 (PST)
(I can't quite remember the rules about off-topic posting here, so if this isn't appropriate, please let me know.)
Alix, you weren't misreading the book about the bones being fake and the entire thing being a hoax, but I did read the whole book (I think Debbie might have mentioned somewhere tha t she did finish it later?) and I did think those passages were offensive ( to put it simply; my view is more complex than just that, of course). I'll be writing a blog post about it sometime, but there's a lot of discussion about this book on the Heavy Medal blog, with people weighing in on both si des of the issue. It starts with this post: http://www.schoollibraryjourna l.com/blog/560000656/post/1110049311.html and continues on for several more
--- On Sat, 11/7/09, Alixwrites_at_aol.com wrote:
=
From: Alixwrites_at_aol.com
Subject: Re:
Richard Peck's SEASON OF GIFTS
To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.eduDate: Saturday, November 7, 2009, 7:12 AM
Regarding Season of Gifts: Maybe I was misreading it
(and I'msure
othersВ 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 wasВ under the
impression that neither the ghost nor the bones were
actually meant to have
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; and3) to publicize the
narrator's father's church.В Granny was a
huckster to rival P.T.
Barnum.В This reminded me ofВ 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.В 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
leadingto the conclusion
that the ghost was fake.В В
В
If Granny was making up the Kickapoo Burial Ground,
the ghost, and thebones (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 burial) in
order to take advantage of the townspeople's ignorance
in believing that 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
Americans?В
В
Much of this (such as the presentation of the closed
box and the revelation
of Granny's profit in selling feathers) likely took
place in the portion of the
book which you didn't read.В This is why I believe
it is important to read
the entire book before making any criticism, whatever the
criticism may
be.
В
Best,
Alexandra Flinn
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
В
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
http://americanindiansinchildre nsliterature.blogspot.com/2009/09/richard-pecks-season-of-gifts.html
--=
Received on Sat 07 Nov 2009 08:35:59 AM CST
