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I have chosen to Review My Name Is Not Easy as part of the celebration of Native American Heritage during the month of November. Title: My Name is Not Easy Author: Debby Dahl Edwardson Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 2011 Themes: Alaska, Alaska Natives, Indians, Whites, … Continue reading →

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Debby Dahl Edwardson,
My Name Is Not Easy
Marshall Cavendish, 2011.

Ages: 12+

What’s in a name? For many people, it stands for something that directly correlates to that person’s sense of identity. In My Name Is Not Easy, author Debby Dahl Edwardson has taken this idea of identity (whether it’s through a name, an action, or relationships with others) to show how it shapes her characters. There’s Luke Aaluk, whose Inupiaq name has been changed because it’s “too hard” to pronounce, and his two younger brothers, Bunna and Isaac. There’s Chickie, a “white Eskimo” who doesn’t fit into either world. Donna and Junior, both quiet and observant, are on the sidelines, but yearning to finally break out and make a name for themselves. Finally, there’s Amiq and Sonny, the “alpha males” of the respective Indian and Eskimo cliques who are constantly butting heads for control.

The story follows these young children for a span of four years (1960-1964) and begins with the Aaluk family discovering that their boys, Luke, Bunna, and Isaac are being shipped off hundreds of miles away to a boarding school called Sacred Heart School to become “good Christians.” As the story unfolds, the reader learns of the characters’ histories that have made them who they are today (alcoholic parents, abandonment). Edwardson steers clear of any romanticized image of Eskimos and Indians and touches on the hardships that many of them have faced through poverty and ethnocentrism.

The book not only addresses native culture, but also some of the major events that occurred in Alaska during the 1960s, such as Project Chariot.  This was a real proposal made by the US Atomic Energy Commission as a way to demonstrate the peaceful use of atomic energy, and the military really did conduct experiments on native villages using iodine-131. Edwardson doesn’t go into much detail regarding these events, but rather, she uses them as a way of conveying even more ominous things to come. All of the characters are unsure of how or why these events are occurring, but they know it can’t be good for them, their families, or their communities.

My Name Is Not Easy is a moving story and while some of the topics can be difficult to read about, Edwardson has ultimately created something invaluable, a tale to keep history alive and educate people now as well as future generations to come.

Keilin Huang
August 2012

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Are you going to the 2012 conference of the Pacific Northwest Library Association? If so, head over a day early for a free workshop (costs will be covered by the Alaska State Library)!

Debby Dahl Edwardson, author of the outstanding My Name Is Not Easy, and I will do a four hour pre-conference session on "Finding, Assessing, and Celebrating Authentic Indigenous Literature."

See the sticker on the cover of Debby's book? "National Book Award Finalist." Saying it again, Debby's book is outstanding.

Each time I look at that cover, I think of all my uncles. When I look through the yearbooks from Santa Fe Indian School (the ones my parents saved), I see my uncles with that haircut... I suppose it was "the thing" back then (the 1950s), but nonetheless, that cover gives me pause every time I look at it. I'm excited to work with Debby on this session.

Date: Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Place: Sheraton Anchorage Hotel and Spa

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My Name Is Not Easy Debby Dahl Edwardson

It starts with Luke and his younger brothers Bunna and Isaac leaving their Inupiaq village to go to Sacred Heart boarding school. Isaac is deemed too young to be there and taken to live with a "good Catholic family." His brothers (and mother) don't know where and have no way to get in touch with him or to bring him home.

Despite the bleak start, it's not nearly as dark or depressing as I thought it would be. There are multiple narrators.* In addition to Luke, there's Chickie, the white girl who lives in an Arctic village. Donna, an Indian raised by nuns, Sonny, the head of the Indian students, Amiq, the head of the Eskimo students, and Junior, an overlooked boy who makes a difference in the end.

The book covers four years of schooling and with the multiple points of view, it dips in and out of time, offering snippets of life. This gives the reader a bit of distance from some of the bleakness present in the school. The book focuses most of its attention on the relationships between the students, which is another reason it doesn't get as dark as it easily could.

There are some big historical events incorporated into the text-- military testing on Arctic students, plans to nuke Cape Hope to build a bigger harbor, the Duck-In protests, the Seward earthquake and tsunami.** There's a great author not explaining about what's true and what isn't. Most of the storyline involving Luke and his brothers comes from the life of Edwardsons's husband and his brothers and their time at a Catholic boarding school.

One thing that comes up often in the text and isn't covered in the author's note that I would like to know more about is the animosity between the Indian and Eskimo students. They sit on opposite sides of the cafeteria, have different leaders, and don't get along. There are a few hints as to why (conflicts going back generations) but I don't have the background to understand it completely and it's something I want to seek out a bit more information on.

Overall, it's a very powerful book, but one that readers will still enjoy. I liked the wide cast of characters and the how gently Edwardson treats her subject without shying away from it. I think this is one that teens will really enjoy, but it's going to take some slick handselling to get them to pick it up.



*Although some characters get to narrate and some are told in limited third person

**Although I didn't know about ANY of those historical events except the earthquake.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Amazon made a dramatic push into the children’s literature market today, acquiring 450 titles from Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books. The press release hinted at upcoming expansion into “into picture books, chapter books and Young Adult novels.”

The list of acquired titles included Three Little Tamales by Eric A. Kimmel, “Chalk” by Bill Thomson and My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson.

Amazon Publishing, East Coast Group publisher Laurence Kirshbaum had this statement: “Under the guidance of Margery Cuyler, the Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books team has done an incredible job of building a contemporary and beautifully presented list of books … We look forward to working with these respected authors and illustrators. We will continue to publish these books in their handsome print editions and we think customers will love reading these books — most of them never available before digitally — with their families, using the brilliant color touchscreen on the Kindle Fire.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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(Or, “See the Signs—Part Two.”)

A few weeks ago, at back-to-school night, I browsed the Scholastic book fair and this cover caught my eye:

(Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated: January 2011)

I love that the words are part of the artistic design. Then last week, I was excited to see that Deirdre had also found some similar covers, using signs for her post, See the Signs. I thought I would continue with this subject, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

I started hunting for similar covers that incorporated the title into the art. I found a few at the book fair, and none at the library. Even my online bookstore search didn’t produce many results. I was surprised to find this device is not used as much as I thought it would be.
Here’s what I found:

Troy High (Abrams, Harry N., Inc.: August 2010)

And coming soon,

So here’s a JACKET KNACK challenge: How many other clever covers can you find?
What qualifies: any covers that mix the words of the title into the art, as an artistic element. (Covers that wer

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A heart congratulations to Debby Dahl Edwardson! Today, her My Name is Not Easy was named as a finalist for the National Book Award! Here's a book trailer about the book:



In addition to the page at the NBA site, take a look at Debby's website. I'll add blog posts and news articles about the book as I find them.

• Barrow novelist Debby Dahl Edwardson is named as a finalist for the National Book Award, at Wasilla, Alaska, by 300, a blog by photographer, Bill Hess
• Debby's essay about the story she tells in My Name is Not Easy, at The Phantom Tollbooth, a blog by several writers of children's and young adult literature

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Link for the book @ publisher:
http://us.macmillan.com/fsgyoungreaders.aspx

Age range 10 and up, 192 pages, Fiction, Young Adult,

The authors website:
http://www.debbydahledwardson.com/
The authors blog:
http://www.debbydahledwardson.com/blog.htm
This book was borrowed from the library for the purpose of reading/reviewing.

Blessing's Bead is a multi generational story of two young girls from different time periods that live in the Arctic Circle.
In the first story Nutaaq and her older sister Aaluk are traveling to a trade fair. The sisters are close, their bond is strong. The time period is the early 20th Century. They live in the Arctic Circle and they are Inupiaq--Eskimo Inuit Native Americans. A Siberian young man that is wearing blue beads has his eye on Aaluk. Nutaaq is watching their interest in one another. The trade fair is an event that they all look forward to, the ability to meet and socialize with others and trade their goods is necessary. Historical events will take place and life changes for these two sisters.
Many years later another young girl named Blessing is traveling with her brother to live with their great grandmother at the Arctic Circle. They had been living in Anchorage, but were taken away when their mother was no longer able to care for them. Life in the Arctic Circle is a challenge, yet there is a strong bond with their great grandmother. Blessing finds a blue bead and her great grandmother shares with her the story.

I loved this story! It was hard for me to put this book down, I finished reading this book in just a few hours.
The book gave me a perfect picture image in my mind of what life is like living in the Arctic Circle. The vivid imagery made it easy for me to feel the icy cold weather.
This is a people group and a part of the world that I knew little about and I am glad that I read this book.
I loved the blending of the two stories together, and the effect on the generations.
I loved the depth of love and selflessness shown in the families.
The writing is simple and easy to understand and read. 
The book would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom.



Blissful Reading!
Annette

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We welcome Nancy Bo Flood to PaperTigers for this, her second Guest Post for PaperTigers (you can read her first one here):

Wanted: Books written by or about contemporary Native Americans.

Needed: Books that include contemporary Native American children presented without stereotypes or clichés.

Every child needs to see their own people and their own experiences in the books they read: yet in the United States less that 5% of children’s books published are written by or about Native Americans.

All young people need books that describe contemporary children who are Native American, not just historical accounts as though Indian children lived “past tense”, only a long time ago. The following books have “real” characters and engaging stories that include traditional celebrations continued in contemporary ways – with food, family, dance.

Picture books:

Secret of the Dance by Alfred Scow and Andrea Spalding (Orca, 2006);
Whale Snow by Debby Dahl Edwardson, illustrated by Annie Patterson (Charlesbridge, 2003);
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (HarperCollins, 2000);
The Butterfly Dance by Gerald Dawavendewa (Abbeville, 2001);
Powwow’s Coming by Linda Boyden (University of New Mexico Press, 2007);
Little Coyote Runs Away by Craig Kee Strete (Putnam, 1997);
When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, illustrated by David Kanietakeron (Tricycle Press, 2007).

With each of these books, if one asks, “Is this how an American Indian child would want to be perceived?” I think the answer is, “Yes.”

For Older Readers:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney (Little Brown, 2007);
Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith (HarperCollins, 2001);
Bowman’s Store: A Journey to Myself by Joseph Bruchac (Lee & Low, 1997);
Eagle

0 Comments on Guest Post: Nancy Bo Flood – Wanted: Books written by or about contemporary Native Americans as of 1/1/1900

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