WEEK-6 RESPONSES

BOOK 1
Full citation:
SUMNER, Jamie. Roll with it. 272p. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. September 1, 2020. Tr $7.99. ISBN 9781534442566 
Image of the cover
So what is so special about Ellie? Ellie is 12 years old and loves life. Like any young girl her age, her internal landscape is about making friends in her new school, her family life, and her big dreams of someday becoming a successful baker. Also, Ellie has cerebral palsy (CP). So what? Jamie Sumner has created a character who is relentless, unstoppable, and unwilling to let anything get in the way of her finding her true self. That includes disability, family issues, pain, change of school, change of lifestyle, disappointment, personal limits, and the pain that love and friendship entail. The book is set in modern-day America against a backdrop of nontraditional family situations, care of elderly family members, and fierce advocacy for those with disabilities. The book is narrated by Ellie, from the first-person narrative standpoint. We almost look forward to the appearance of characters that will match Ellie’s almost hard-to-believe Hutzpah. And Coralee and Bert appear just as we would have imagined them full of life, zeist, dreams, intellect, and love. The subject of the book is life with all its ups and downs but make no mistake about it, books written with such candid audacity about a disability such as cerebral palsy were well overdue. Sumner used empathy, a vivid description of the feelings of her characters, and clear language in a conversational tone to make the reader understand Ellie’s life experience. If you liked Gillian McDunn's “Honestly Elliott” you will most likely not be untouched by a book written by an author who is a mother to a son with cerebral palsy. 

BOOK 2 

Full Citation: 
MARSHALL, Joseph. In The Footsteps of Crazy Horse. 176p. Amulet Books. November 2015. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781419707858

Image of the Cover:
In Lakota Boy Jimmy Mclean, many things are turned inside out. Jimmy is three-quarters Lakota and one-quarter white but “his Lakota part is inside while his white part is outside”, complete with fair hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. And then there is his last name “Mclean”. Whoever heard of a Lakota named Mclean? This creates a problem if you live on a Sioux Indian Reservation where other boys have darker skin and darker hair and they like to tell Jimmy that he is “not a Lakota”. What would Jimmy not give to find out exactly who he is? That’s when Grampa Nyles comes up with his greatest idea which will involve traveling through states such as Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana on Indian historical sites once trodden by the feet of Jimmy's ancestor and look-alike Crazy Horse, a revered Lakota Oglala warrior. Using both the respect native Indians feel for their grandparents and the reverence displayed to elder members of the community, Marshall, a meticulous historian takes us through the world of what happened when two cultures entirely opposed in their ways met and the resulting violence that ensued. This is a story about understanding one's cultural identity. A story about pride, resilience, and love of one’s people. The novel is written in a straightforward conversational style. The author uses Jimmy’s curiosity to answer questions the readers might have such as why Lakota men had two wives. The author strove to create an authentic historical setting, authentic articles of clothing, idioms, motives, and even battlefield tactics such as the grouse. Through the voice of Grandpa Nyles, Marshall recreates a world little known to the modern citizen: a world of brave, loyal, compassionate, self-sacrificing American Indian warriors. In this historical realistic novel, the author does not blame, he does not judge, nor does he excuse, instead he recounts the violent encounter of the red and white man and challenges us to reconsider who the real winner in this encounter is. I would recommend this book to children or adults who are curious to learn about the history of Native Americans and their encounter with white settlers from the native's perspective.

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