A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children [Paperback]

A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children is a companion to its predecessor published by Oyate, Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. A compilation of work by Native parents, children, educators, poets and writers, A Broken Flute contains, from a Native perspective, 'living stories,' essays, poetry, and hundreds of reviews of 'children's books about Indians.' It's an indispensable volume for anyone interested in presenting honest materials by and about indigenous peoples to children.

Strong American Indian voices permeateA Broken Flute. In innovative stories at the beginning, adults and young people speak movingly of how certain books have brought pain-or healing-to their lives. Readers of all ages can relate to these powerful words, which vividly reinforce the book reviewers' excellent critiques.A Broken Fluteis a compelling call for truth-telling and healing. Marilou Awiakta (Cherokee), author of Selu: Seeking the Corn Mother's Wisdom

[Seale and Slapin's] latest volume evaluates hundreds of books for children and teenagers published from the early 1900s through 2004, and [it is] more brutally honest than anything else out there. Seale, Slapin, and their reviewers and commentators-noted storytellers, poets, fiction writers, scholars, teachers, and student and community activists-take on Newberry and Caldecott medalists and reading-list perennials for their simplistic, stereotype-filled, condescending, and outright false portrayals of American Indians... Equally valuable are the reflections of the reviewers and their children, in the form of essays and poems, about the negative images perpetrated by mainstream society and its educational system as well as their own efforts to make their voices heard. Here, we see concerned parents and grandparents and strong Indian children who have grown up with the good examples that ultimately stand out in this book. Multicultural Review

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