Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 [Hardcover]

Edwidge Danticat (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Edwidge Danticat, the award-winning, best-selling author of THE FARMING OF BONES and KRIK? KRAK! offers a powerful addition to The Royal Diaries series with the story of Haiti's heroic queen Anacaona.

With her signature narrative grace, Edwidge Danticat brings Haiti's beautiful queen Anacaona to life. Queen Anacaona was the wife of one of her island's rulers, and a composer of songs and poems, making her popular among her people. Haiti was relatively quiet until the Spanish conquistadors discovered the island and began to settle there in 1492.
The Spaniards treated the natives very cruelly, and when the natives revolted, the Spanish governor of Haiti ordered the arrests of several native nobles, including Anacaona, who was eventually captured and executed, to the horror of her people.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In her second novel for young people, part of the Royal Diaries series, Danticat writes a gripping story that shows European invasion from a native Caribbean viewpoint. In fifteenth-century Haiti, Anacaona is part of a royal lineage that rules the Taino people. After her coming-of-age ceremony, she marries a neighboring chief and learns battle techniques to defend against warring tribes. Then "pale men" arrive from Europe. Although Anacaona's people win a vicious battle against the Spanish explorers, children who read the epilogue will learn about the ultimate devastation that Europeans brought to the island worlds. The diary format raises several issues. A preface acknowledges that Anacaona, whose society had no written language, wouldn't have kept a diary. Also, the text is filled with long, purposeful explanations of Taino customs, which prompts questions about the division between factual and fictional content, as will some of the extensive back matter. Still, readers will connect with Danticat's immediate, poetic language, Anacaona's finely drawn growing pains, and the powerful, graphic story that adds a vital perspective to the literature about Columbus and European expansion in the Americas. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439499062
• ISBN-13: 978-0439499064
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Exploration & Discoveries
  • #65 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Ancient Civilizations

More About the Author

Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti in 1969 and came to the United States when she was twelve years old. She graduated from Barnard College and received an M.F.A. from Brown University. She made an auspicious debut with her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, and followed it with the story collection Krik? Krak!, whose National Book Award nomination made Danticat the youngest nominee ever. She lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent new book from the Royal Diaries series., December 24, 2004

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (Hardcover)

Anacaona's story begins in the year 1490 when she is about sixteen years old. Her uncle is the cacique, or supreme ruler, of their province of Xaragua, located in what is now Haiti. Anacaona and her older brother, Behechio, have been raised to become the future rulers of Xaragua. But Anacaona gives up her birthright to marry Caonabo, the cacique of the nearby province of Maguana. Anacaona loves her husband and is happy in her marriage, and her joy only increases after the birth of their daughter, Higuamota. But life for their people is about to change forever when strange pale-faced men arrive from the sea and threaten their way of life and their very survival.

The author has done an excellent job at bringing to life Anacaona and her Taino people, and their life before and after the arrival of European explorers. This book shows how tragic the "discovery" of the Americas ultimately was for these native people, who were nearly all decimated within a few decades of Columbus's arrival. This book is an excellent addition to the Royal Diaries series, but it is not really for younger readers of the series. Due to some of the content, I would recommend it more to teen readers who enjoy this series or who are interested in this subject.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Could Not Put This Book Down, January 18, 2005

By 

Gary H. Cassel "Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews" (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (Hardcover)

Quisqueya is the name of the land currently called Haiti, and he time now is 1490. Anacaona is a young lady, and heir with her brother Behechio to the throne of Xaragua, a section of Quisqueya. Anacaona gets her hair cut off, a Native American ritual sending her into adulthood. Now that she is in adulthood, she can marry. Caonabo', the chief of the land of Maguana, which is a different section of Quisqueya, is looking for a wife, and he chooses Anacaona. The leader of Xaragua accepts, hoping to extend the friendship with Maguana. Anacaona accepts, and leaves Behechio as heir to rule rule over Xaragua. As she gets to Maguana, she is amazed at its beauty and the skills of its people. Shortly thereafter the ruler of Xaragua dies, and Anacaona comes to the funeral with Caonabo'. There Behechio is appointed the new ruler of Xaragua. Also, while in Xaragua, Anacaona becomes pregnant. After they return to Maguana, Anacaona has a girl. After the birth of her daughter her world is turned upside down when white men (Spaniards) come to the beach with weapons like lightning rods. Caonabo, his brother, and some warriors decide to travel to a place where the Spaniards are encamped, and attack them, hoping to get rid of them for good. Will the island of Quisqueya survive this new threat?

This book is a diary written by Anacaona and each day is a new heading. Sometimes the day can be boring and dull, and at other times the day could be so exciting that I could not put the book down. So there were slow parts and fast-moving parts to the story and you had to stick with the book through this variation. Despite this, I really liked this book a lot. Of the 13 Flamingnet books I have reviewed so far, this would rank in the top 5. This book also is very historical. It taught me a lot about the ancient people, and what their ways of life was like. I also learned about their fears, and what they thought about the Spaniards.

Reviewed by M. Yousem for Flamingnet Book Reviews, www.flamingnet.com.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars **It is a very pleasing book to read during the holidays**, December 23, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (Hardcover)

YEAH!!! I AM THE FIRST ONE TO WRITE A REVIEW!!!
Sorry, just a little excited! Anyway, I was able to get this book during a book club at my junior high. I was yearning to read it, and got to when we got out of school for break. I finished in a day, and thought it was very good. I loved how it is sort of connected with Christopher Colombus. I also liked the fact that Anacaona, got both her wishes! Oops! Won't say anymore! I guess you'll have to find out! You won't regret it!