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A review by kitsuneheart
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
4.0
So, I can't in any way attest to this book's treatment of native tribes. It FEELS halfway to accurate, but only a quarter of the way to politically correct. Banks makes sure to point out that tribes have different traditions and beliefs, as well as different alliances with Europeans, but it still feels like Little Bear is being portrayed as the "noble savage," to me.
The story itself is okay. I know this is considered a classic, but I don't feel it's aged too well in the last couple decades. I know that most of my friends my age read this in school, so I suppose the 90s were still all abuzz over the book, but since 2000, we've had so many more sophisticated, aware books than this, that I feel this would be a poor choice for any modern-day classroom.
It's still good, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook (read by the author herself), but I couldn't see myself slogging through corrections on proper terms and depictions of the characters to teach this. I'd hand it off to a kid to read on their own, but with school approval, perhaps not.
Just be careful, here. I know some parents will find my warning too PC, but allowing your kids to pick up the idea of "playing cowboys and Indians" seems like such a step backwards.
The story itself is okay. I know this is considered a classic, but I don't feel it's aged too well in the last couple decades. I know that most of my friends my age read this in school, so I suppose the 90s were still all abuzz over the book, but since 2000, we've had so many more sophisticated, aware books than this, that I feel this would be a poor choice for any modern-day classroom.
It's still good, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook (read by the author herself), but I couldn't see myself slogging through corrections on proper terms and depictions of the characters to teach this. I'd hand it off to a kid to read on their own, but with school approval, perhaps not.
Just be careful, here. I know some parents will find my warning too PC, but allowing your kids to pick up the idea of "playing cowboys and Indians" seems like such a step backwards.