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A review by thewordwitch
Kaya and Lone Dog: A Friendship Story by Janet Beeler Shaw
3.0
I'm kind of at a loss for how I feel about the Kaya series. It's a difficult series to read, each book having its own traumatic incident for Kaya to cope with, and there seems to be very few moments of joy. It kind of makes me feel like I'm going back to the Josefina series where she was constantly grieving her mother and feeling shame for things that, as a nine year old, she shouldn't. The same seems to be happening with Kaya as we go through the series. Kaya can't work in the fields with the other women, because she's not happy enough. It's as if she's supposed to feel bad for feeling bad when she has lost so many people and animals that she cares about.
I'm also reading this series hot on the heels of reading through Molly, and the contrast is startling. Molly's books are incredibly privileged. In her fourth book, her biggest source of drama was a conflict over how to run a birthday and wanting to have cake over a lemon tart. She gets a dog. In Kaya's fourth book, she has to deal with a bear almost turning one of her little brother's into a snack, grief from losing her sister, her horse, and her hero. She gets a dog, but after parting with the pup's mother, whom she had truly bonded with.
I feel like these books are missing joy. I know as a kid I definitely would have been handed these books. My family always enjoyed learning about Indigenous culture. I'd go to the library where they'd have an Indigenous story-teller come in and tell us stories from her people. I would sit there enraptured and then take out books so I could learn more. I am not sure how a little version of me would have reacted to these books. There are so many beautiful things about Indigenous people, and I don't feel like these books highlight them. (Also, why aren't they written by an Indigenous author?) My favorite part in the series was the courting dance that Brown Deer participated in.
In these books Kaya is continually shamed or made to feel guilt for traits that feel more like strengths to me. I'm not sure what kind of message this is sending to young female readers.
I'm also reading this series hot on the heels of reading through Molly, and the contrast is startling. Molly's books are incredibly privileged. In her fourth book, her biggest source of drama was a conflict over how to run a birthday and wanting to have cake over a lemon tart. She gets a dog. In Kaya's fourth book, she has to deal with a bear almost turning one of her little brother's into a snack, grief from losing her sister, her horse, and her hero. She gets a dog, but after parting with the pup's mother, whom she had truly bonded with.
I feel like these books are missing joy. I know as a kid I definitely would have been handed these books. My family always enjoyed learning about Indigenous culture. I'd go to the library where they'd have an Indigenous story-teller come in and tell us stories from her people. I would sit there enraptured and then take out books so I could learn more. I am not sure how a little version of me would have reacted to these books. There are so many beautiful things about Indigenous people, and I don't feel like these books highlight them. (Also, why aren't they written by an Indigenous author?) My favorite part in the series was the courting dance that Brown Deer participated in.
In these books Kaya is continually shamed or made to feel guilt for traits that feel more like strengths to me. I'm not sure what kind of message this is sending to young female readers.