Book of the Week

Happy New Year everyone!

A lot of catching up to do today after the long holiday, but I thought I'd offer up this delightful book of the week:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie
PZ 7 .A382 Ab 2007
Exploring Indian identity, both self and tribal, Alexie's first young adult novel is a semiautobiographical chronicle of Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, a Spokane Indian from Wellpinit, WA. The bright 14-year-old was born with water on the brain, is regularly the target of bullies, and loves to draw. He says, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." He expects disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school in Reardan, but soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. The daily struggles of reservation life and the tragic deaths of the protagonist's grandmother, dog, and older sister would be all but unbearable without the humor and resilience of spirit with which Junior faces the world. The many characters, on and off the rez, with whom he has dealings are portrayed with compassion and verve, particularly the adults in his extended family. Forney's simple pencil cartoons fit perfectly within the story and reflect the burgeoning artist within Junior. Reluctant readers can even skim the pictures and construct their own story based exclusively on Forney's illustrations. The teen's determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty, despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a positive message in a low-key manner. .—Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library

Have you seen the orange-crowned warblers or the yellow-rumped warblers blown in from the north  by this cold front?  Sweet, little things.  They eat bugs, but suet will keep them warm in freezing weather.


Check out the the Meebo box and the book art blogs from December.

Warm thoughts to you all,

Ingrid