Overview
A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children is a companion to its predecessor published by Oyate, Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. A compilation of work by Native parents, children, educators, poets and writers, A Broken Flute contains, from a Native perspective, "living stories," essays, poetry, and hundreds of reviews of "children's books about Indians." It's an indispensable volume for anyone interested in presenting honest materials by and about indigenous peoples to children.
Synopsis
A Broken Flute is a book of reviews that critically evaluate children's books about Native Americans written between the early 1900s and 2003, accompanied by stories, essays and poems from its contributors. The authors critique some 600 books by more than 500 authors, arranging titles A to Z and covering pre-school, K-12 levels, and evaluations of some adult and teacher materials. This book is a valuable resource for community and educational organizations, and a key reference for public and school libraries, and Native American collections.
Laura Woodruff - VOYA
Another volume in the Contemporary Native American Communities series and companion to the editor's earlier selection resource, Through Indian Eyes (University of California, American Indian Studies Center, 1998), this volume is an excellent guide. Although it retains the rather hostile tone of the previous work, that perspective is vindicated by a variety of outstanding stories, essays, and poems demonstrating the Native American position in terms of the literary world. Many specialized reviews are thematically available. Intended "to bring attention to some of the gifted writers and illustrators of the past ten years," as well as to evaluate the popular work of non-Native authors, the book's design is a librarian's dream. Indexed by title, author, editor, artist/illustrator/photographer, reviewer/storyteller/essayist, and subject, this resource provides both positive and negative opinions of in-print works. Especially good are the reviews of photo essays of Indian children, followed by a guide for evaluating, and for educators the section that deconstructs the myths surrounding the first Thanksgiving. A comprehensive work, Broken Flute is a superior reference and could serve as a cornerstone for Native American collections. 2005, Alta Mira Press, 463p.; Index. Illus. Photos. Biblio. Appendix., PLB . Ages adult professional.
Editorials
CHOICE
This is an excellent resource for educators and parents. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. Academic and public libraries serving lower-level undergraduates through graduate students, professionals, and general readers.Choice
This is an excellent resource for educators and parents. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. Academic and public libraries serving lower-level undergraduates through graduate students, professionals, and general readers.Like the authors' earlier work, Through Indian Eyes, A Broken Flute offers essays, critical reviews and commentary on many books about American Indians for children and teenagers. But A Broken Flute also asks us to understand the pain and the anger that the appropriation and misrepresentation of Native history, culture and values by non-Native writers has caused.
[Seale and Slapin's] latest volume evaluates hundreds of books for children and teenagers published from the early 1900s through 2004, and [it is] more brutally honest than anything else out there. Seale, Slapin, and their reviewers and commentators—noted storytellers, poets, fiction writers, scholars, teachers, and student and community activists—take on Newberry and Caldecott medalists and reading-list perennials for their simplistic, stereotype-filled, condescending, and outright false portrayals of American Indians... Equally valuable are the reflections of the reviewers and their children, in the form of essays and poems, about the negative images perpetrated by mainstream society and its educational system as well as their own efforts to make their voices heard. Here, we see concerned parents and grandparents and strong Indian children who have grown up with the good examples that ultimately stand out in this book.
The editors intersperse fascinating commentary and essays with cultural and literary criticism. The result is a valuable resource for teachers, scholars and caregivers for children.
A Broken Flute will be a valuable resource for community and educational organizations, and a key reference for public and school libraries, and Native American collections. Readers will turn to this volume repeatedly, especially because of the multiple indexes, for help with book evaluation and to broaden their understanding of the community in which they work and live.
If you are teaching children's literature to prospective teachers, HeadStart staff, librarians or others who make vital decisions about acquisition and use of appropriate books for kids, you have GOT to own this book. If you are teaching Native American kids, you also must OWN this book. It critically reviews and assesses the cultural authenticity and historical accuracy of hundreds of well-known (and elsewhere highly regarded) children's titles of the past ten years with a particular scrutiny for the taint of misinformation, cultural theft, and lack of balance. Highly Recommended.
Another volume in the Contemporary Native American Communities series and companion to the editor's earlier selection resource, Through Indian Eyes (University of California, American Indian Studies Center, 1998), this volume is an excellent guide. Although it retains the rather hostile tone of the previous work, that perspective is vindicated by a variety of outstanding stories, essays, and poems demonstrating the Native American position in terms of the literary world. Many specialized reviews are thematically available. Intended "to bring attention to some of the gifted writers and illustrators of the past ten years," as well as to evaluate the popular work of non-Native authors, the book's design is a librarian's dream. Indexed by title, author, editor, artist/illustrator/photographer, reviewer/storyteller/essayist, and subject, this resource provides both positive and negative opinions of in-print works. Especially good are the reviews of photo essays of Indian children, followed by a guide for evaluating, and for educators the section that deconstructs the myths surrounding the first Thanksgiving. A comprehensive work, Broken Flute is a superior reference and could serve as a cornerstone for Native American collections. 2005, Alta Mira Press, 463p.; Index. Illus. Photos. Biblio. Appendix., PLB . Ages adult professional.
—Laura Woodruff
This companion volume to Through Indian Eyes (New Society, 1992; o.p.) is an invaluable resource. The first section includes essays by respected Native authors, storytellers, and educators on topics related to Native cultures and children's literature. Deborah Miranda sets the tone in the foreword, describing a selection of books: "These are not just bad books-they are honest reflections of the society in which Indian people must live. No, say it-these books are honest reflections of the way most white people think about Indians-." Many essays lead into book reviews on a particular subject, including the California Missions, the Navajo Long Walk, and Indian Residential Schools. Sections that will be particularly useful for librarians include "A Guide for Evaluating Photoessays" and "Deconstructing the Myths of `The First Thanksgiving.'" Following these thematically organized sections are nearly 300 pages of more positive and negative reviews that address the literary and artistic as well as cultural elements of the books. With a few exceptions, the titles are in print, mostly from the 1990s and later. This broad collection of criticism exhibits a wide array of opinions. By calling attention to this diversity of Native voices, it points out the failure of mainstream publishers to represent Native work, and the crucial role that teachers and librarians must play in questioning non-Native work and in seeking authentic criticism. Multiple indexes (titles, authors/editors, artists/illustrators/photographers, poets, reviewers, storytellers/essayists, and subjects) will greatly aid readers, who will turn to this volume again and again for help with book evaluation and to broaden their understanding of the community in which they work and live.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.