The Ghost Dance [Hardcover]

Alice McLerran (Author), Paul Morin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 1995 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Dazzling paintings and "assemblage pieces" containing historic artifacts and natural objects from the Great Plains highlight this spare, poetic account of a dramatic episode in American history. The Ghost Dance movement, envisioned by the Paiute prophets Tavibo and Wovoka, began in hope: Native peoples danced together to restore the bountiful world of their ancestors. But it ended in tragedy, with the massacre at Wounded Knee. This evocative story offers a vivid glimpse of a vanished past, and a powerful message for the future.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?McLerran's elegant, spare text begins by describing the result of white settlers' relentless westward movement in the U.S. The scenario is one often related in books sympathetic to Native Americans: buffalo, their hides stripped, left to rot on the prairie; streams stripped of fish; and herds of elk and buffalo depleted. In poetic prose, she talks about a Paiute visionary, Tavibo, and his son who each dreamed that if Native peoples danced, the white people would disappear and the ghosts of the wildlife that had been decimated would return. Twice, word of the Ghost Dance spread through the Native nations. But both attempts at coming together in a sacred, nonviolent ceremony ended in violence to the Native Americans, as their actions were interpreted as warlike. McLerran encourages readers to hold on to the vision of the Dance, and to unite across the boundaries of culture and politics that we created, to heal the world. An afterword provides the necessary background. Morin's thoughtful assemblages contain many objects that place the book in its historic context. The evocative paintings feature a variety of textures. They glow with the golden colors of the sun-drenched prairie, and exhibit a dramatic use of light. The final illustration, a relief map of the world superimposed on a background of many large fish, reinforces the author's optimistic and hopeful vision of environmental healing. This stunning book will hold great appeal for environmentally conscious readers, and will interest classroom teachers seeking a poetic call-to-action.?Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This stunning book will hold great appeal for environmentally conscious readers, and will interest classroom teachers seeking a poetic call-to-action." School Library Journal, Starred

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (October 23, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395631688
• ISBN-13: 978-0395631683
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,075,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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