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A review by skylarkochava
A Picture Book of Sacagawea by David A. Adler
1.0
Not recommended for history/homeschool use. Sacagawea is very light-skinned and looks more like my Ashkenazi Jewish relatives than an indigenous woman. Writes in the text that the Hidatsa people were lighter-skinned than the Shoshone (and presumably Sacagawea), but they’re drawn with darker skin, most noticeably in the scene where they are selling her to her “husband.”
Dismissive language around her captivity and rape, dismissive language and illustrations around the enslaved member of the Lewis and Clark journey. Ignores the effect of this expedition on Native peoples and Sacagawea herself, presenting her as an uncomplicated hero just here to help like it was a choice. “She helped assure the success of the journey and open up the continent to the people of the United States.”
All things considered, there are many much worse book versions of this story, but that doesn’t make this a “good” one. Probably the least harmful of the harmful books I pre-read, which means still harmful and not for use in our homeschool.
Misc annoyances with the illustrations: Just plain annoyed by the “2 month old baby on a cradleboard” that is clearly a 1+ year old baby and not a cradleboard. Also bothered by the weird Pippi Longstocking-ish braids of Sacagawea - they just sit so unnaturally, like a bad plastic wig.
Dismissive language around her captivity and rape, dismissive language and illustrations around the enslaved member of the Lewis and Clark journey. Ignores the effect of this expedition on Native peoples and Sacagawea herself, presenting her as an uncomplicated hero just here to help like it was a choice. “She helped assure the success of the journey and open up the continent to the people of the United States.”
All things considered, there are many much worse book versions of this story, but that doesn’t make this a “good” one. Probably the least harmful of the harmful books I pre-read, which means still harmful and not for use in our homeschool.
Misc annoyances with the illustrations: Just plain annoyed by the “2 month old baby on a cradleboard” that is clearly a 1+ year old baby and not a cradleboard. Also bothered by the weird Pippi Longstocking-ish braids of Sacagawea - they just sit so unnaturally, like a bad plastic wig.