With 10 days left of school there is not much to report. I did not have as many books to shelve today, but I know that there will be more coming, as the whole non-fiction states section is not packed and it usually is. After putting books away I labeled books. I think I got almost 210 again. I started doing 60 books at a time instead of 30. It was a day two so the librarian had Kindergarten, they are preparing for Mother Goose to come for a visit. Lots of nursery rhymes. Then we had first grade, they are being urged to read over the summer. Then they got to play the 7 up game. I love the 7 up game. Did you play 7 up when you were in school. There are 7 students at the front of the class. Every one puts their heads down and their thumbs up and then the 7 kids go around and tap someone on the thumb and then you have to guess who did it. I loved that game when I was a kid.
Who will put all the books away when I'm gone? I think that the hope is that parents will come in and volunteer and put the books away. That is why I am trying so hard to get all the books relabeled because it makes it so much easier with the new label system. If no one volunteers to put the books away, then the librarian will have to do it. He will be so missing me next year. Which he says often!
Well I wanted to share some Native American books. Three are Cinderella type stories and one is about a young Native American girl who loved horses.
The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin Illustrated by David Shannon. This story comes from the Algonquin Indian Tribe. It starts on the shore of Lake Ontario. A young Native American girl is mistreated by her two older sisters, who make her feed the fire, which sparks on her and leaves her scared by all the burns. They call her ugly and rough faced. Also near the town is the mysterious rich, powerful and invisible being, whom all the girls dream of marrying. Only the girl who can see him will be able to marry him.
What I like about this story is that there is no fairy godmother, but just a humble girl who with faith goes to try and be the one who will be the wife. You will have to read the story to find out what happens.
SOOTFACE By Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Daniel San Souci : This story is told by the Ojibwa tribe. This tribe is also from the north east. It is very similar to the story "The Rough Face girl. Again the magical being is the man, and it is a young girl who has been mistreated who decides she wants to be the wife for the invisible man. She makes herself a dress from the bark of a tree, and puts flowers around her neck as a necklace and as the town laughs at her she holds her head high as she walks towards her destiny. I love the illustrations in both books.
The Turkey Girl Retold by Penny Pollock, illustrated by Ed Young: This is a Zuni Cinderella story. The Zuni tribe are from New Mexico. Here is a quote from the author " When I came upon the story of the Turkey girl, I was struck by how different it is from the European version - The Cinderella story my English grandmother told me. That story ended with Cinderella's wedding to the prince. In contrast, the various Native American versions end with the hard truth that when we break our trust with mother Earth we pay the price." In this story a young girl who tends the turkeys for her tribe wants to attend a dance but is too poor to have a nice dress. The turkeys help her to have clothing for the dance. She is told she must come back before the sun sets. She also has to keep the gate to the turkey pen unlatched while she is gone. Do you think she made it back in time? What do you think happened to her? You'll have to read the story to find out.
The last book is The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses By Paul Goble. This is about a young girl who tends to her tribes horses. One evening there is a terrible storm and she and the horses race across the plains and become lost. A wild stallion invites the girl to live with him and his herd. You will have to read it to find out what happens to the girl and the stallion. I think I like this book because as a young child I loved horses. I would even run about pretending I was a horse. I'm thankful that I had the chance to work on a horse farm. I have wonderful memories of being with horses. If you like horses you'll like reading this book.
I wanted to share the authors note from The Rough - Face Girl " To see good rewarded and evil punished, or justice, is rare. Stories, however, pass on the realities not of the everyday world but of the human heart. One way in which the universal yearning for justice has been kept alive is by the many tales of Cinderella. Indeed, some 1,500 or so versions of the basic Cinderella story -type have been recorded so far. In each, the cruel and thoughtless at last get their just reward, as do those who are kind and good."
I have enjoyed reading many of the Cinderella stories this year, but I guess I still have more to read because I have not read 1,500 yet. I'll have to keep searching for more. I like seeing how they are similar and how they are different. Some even have boys as the main character. I hope over the summer to find a few more to read.
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