Sweetgrass [Hardcover]

Janis Reams Hudson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 1989 | Age Level: 10 and up

Living on the western Canadian prairie in the nineteenth century, Sweetgrass, a fifteen-year-old Blackfoot Indian girl, saves her family from a smallpox epidemic and proves her maturity to her father.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the summer of 1837, Sweetgrass, a Blackfoot girl with a lively mind, restlessly awaits permission to marry. Because her father is a man of means and is fond of her, she can reasonably presume that a desirable match will be made. But when? And can she respect its full effect on her future? Much of this coming-of-age story shows how Sweetgrass learns to value her role in the cultural pattern of her people, the "beaded design." At the same time, it presents a heroine luckier and stronger than other women, particularly the poignant and resigned young bride, Pretty-Girl. Although the story line meanders, the final chapters, in which Sweetgrass nurses her family through a smallpox epidemic and a dreadful winter, are graphic and powerfully written. Especially convincing is the spark between Sweetgrass and Eagle-Sun, lovers who rarely speak or touch but make the most of a yearning glance. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-10-- A masterpiece combining elements of an historical, a native American, a survival, and a coming-of-age novel set in the 19th-Century western Canadian prairie. During an attack against her village by another tribe, Sweetgrass, the 15-year-old spirited Blackfoot heroine, demonstrates her practicality, but her father still considers her too young for marriage. The real test comes during a fierce winter when smallpox spreads through the camp, taking two of her brothers, her best friend, and many other Indians. She cares for her family members faithfully, tries unsuccessfully to hunt for food, and decides instead on defying the river demon by catching fish, even though Blackfoot laws forbid the consumption of fish. For her selflessness, she earns the respect of her almost-mother and her younger brother, Otter. Now at last her father considers her a woman. Hudson's language is simple and flowing, with many vivid images ("Prickly is how frost feels, like plant burrs against my insides, like my fear of the nearness of winter"). This is a book which could be enjoyed even by reluctant readers, and is one which will invite re-reading. The message is one which is valuable for young readers to consider: maturity is not measured by one's physical growth alone but by the manner in which one faces both the emergencies of life and the ordinary and practical chores of everyday living. This will be a welcome addition to fictional works on the American Indian because of its point of view and because of its rich detail of Indian life. --Yvonne A. Frey, Peoria Public Library, Ill.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (May 4, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399217215
• ISBN-13: 978-0399217210
• Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 inches
• Shipping Weight: 20 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,536,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING, July 28, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sweetgrass (Paperstar Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had to read 2 books over the summer for school I picked 1 from the that the title made me want to read more about it.So I picked SWEETGRASS. Now this book is so good. It shows how 15 year old Sweetgrass belives that she is ready to be married.BUT she can't get married because her father doesnt think she is mature enough so...of course she has to show her maturity to her dad so she can marry EAGLE-SUN her 1 true love. So how does she get to show her maturity? Does she get to marry EAGLE-SUN? Read it to find Out! (and its not that long! )

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweetgrass is a Blackfoot Indian girl., January 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweetgrass (Paperback)

Sweetgrass is a 15 year old Blackfoot Indian girl who is waiting to be married. She is so anxious to be married because she is the oldest girl in her tribe to not be married yet.

She did many tasks to show her father that she was woman enought to marry her love, Eagle Sun. Sweetgrass skinned and tanned the hides from the buffalo her brother, Otter, had shot. She worked very hard getting the hides ready for sleeping blankets. During the summer, Sweetgrass also picked many berries for the winter. In the end, Sweetgrass's father decides whether or not she is woamn and ready to marry Eagle Sun.

Sweetgrass has courage and strives to stay alive and keep her family alive during a smallpox epidemic that came from the white man. She is a good person. She belived in herelf and that got her through some other tight situations in the book as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching & Sad, October 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweetgrass (Turtleback)

This book was so good I couldn't put it down! I recomended it to my best friends(C.B.& M.C.) and they loved this book too. This book was written with so much feeling and emotion! I loved it! One of my favourite children's books of all time!