Community Reviews
What an odd book.
There were some parts of this book that were charming. Some that were hilarious. Some where the irritation from the author was palpable, some where the characters got annoyed at each other. Some moments that felt blindingly truthful, others that felt purposely obscured.
But my ultimate question is: why teach this book anymore?
This book is horrifyingly racist. When I made it 40 pages without anything racist, I was like, "oh, maybe it won't be so bad!" No. Such. Luck. Page 41 (it felt like), there it was. Graphically racist depictions of Native Americans. And they seemed to come back and come back and come back, so it got to the point where I was thinking to myself, "can we talk about anything else?"
The thing is, this book is not necessary to be taught. It's by an old dead white guy and while it made a big cultural impact at the time and later because Disney, that doesn't mean it still needs to be brought into the classroom. And you might say, "well, here's a learning opportunity to address racism". Okay, but, like, children already get the racism in their everyday lives. The Disney movie is still out there. People are still wildly ignorant. Plenty of high school mascots are still "The Braves" or "The Chiefs" and there are still plenty of racist Halloween costumes. It's not like we need to read the explicit racism in order to challenge it. You know what might be better? Reading stories written BY ACTUAL PEOPLE OF COLOR ABOUT THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES. Or a variety of stories about people of color so that children can see that their stories extend beyond the false boundaries placed upon them by dead white authors. If all they've ever experienced of Native Americans is Peter Pan (and for some kids who don't live in states with a significant NA population, this is likely to be their only experience), even if they have the racism pointed out to them, they won't have contrary experiences to draw upon. They will know the racist stereotypes aren't true, but they won't have real stories and experiences to replace them.
To add to that, here's a list of book by Native American authors you can read and support instead!
[b:Race to the Sun|36353103|Race to the Sun|Rebecca Roanhorse|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549292562l/36353103._SY75_.jpg|58035374]
[b:Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two|175395|Code Talker A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two|Joseph Bruchac|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309198585l/175395._SY75_.jpg|1973199]
[b:In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse|24795887|In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse|Joseph M. Marshall III|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425594754l/24795887._SX50_.jpg|44431922]
[b:Sees Behind Trees|576782|Sees Behind Trees|Michael Dorris|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496517015l/576782._SX50_.jpg|2803282]
[b:The Birchbark House|159666|The Birchbark House (Birchbark House, #1)|Louise Erdrich|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280242695l/159666._SY75_.jpg|154105]
[b:How I Became a Ghost|17901341|How I Became a Ghost|Tim Tingle|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374334746l/17901341._SY75_.jpg|25076772]
If you have more suggestions of books by Native Americans about native experiences, please drop them here!
There were some parts of this book that were charming. Some that were hilarious. Some where the irritation from the author was palpable, some where the characters got annoyed at each other. Some moments that felt blindingly truthful, others that felt purposely obscured.
But my ultimate question is: why teach this book anymore?
This book is horrifyingly racist. When I made it 40 pages without anything racist, I was like, "oh, maybe it won't be so bad!" No. Such. Luck. Page 41 (it felt like), there it was. Graphically racist depictions of Native Americans. And they seemed to come back and come back and come back, so it got to the point where I was thinking to myself, "can we talk about anything else?"
The thing is, this book is not necessary to be taught. It's by an old dead white guy and while it made a big cultural impact at the time and later because Disney, that doesn't mean it still needs to be brought into the classroom. And you might say, "well, here's a learning opportunity to address racism". Okay, but, like, children already get the racism in their everyday lives. The Disney movie is still out there. People are still wildly ignorant. Plenty of high school mascots are still "The Braves" or "The Chiefs" and there are still plenty of racist Halloween costumes. It's not like we need to read the explicit racism in order to challenge it. You know what might be better? Reading stories written BY ACTUAL PEOPLE OF COLOR ABOUT THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES. Or a variety of stories about people of color so that children can see that their stories extend beyond the false boundaries placed upon them by dead white authors. If all they've ever experienced of Native Americans is Peter Pan (and for some kids who don't live in states with a significant NA population, this is likely to be their only experience), even if they have the racism pointed out to them, they won't have contrary experiences to draw upon. They will know the racist stereotypes aren't true, but they won't have real stories and experiences to replace them.
To add to that, here's a list of book by Native American authors you can read and support instead!
[b:Race to the Sun|36353103|Race to the Sun|Rebecca Roanhorse|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549292562l/36353103._SY75_.jpg|58035374]
[b:Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two|175395|Code Talker A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two|Joseph Bruchac|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309198585l/175395._SY75_.jpg|1973199]
[b:In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse|24795887|In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse|Joseph M. Marshall III|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425594754l/24795887._SX50_.jpg|44431922]
[b:Sees Behind Trees|576782|Sees Behind Trees|Michael Dorris|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496517015l/576782._SX50_.jpg|2803282]
[b:The Birchbark House|159666|The Birchbark House (Birchbark House, #1)|Louise Erdrich|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280242695l/159666._SY75_.jpg|154105]
[b:How I Became a Ghost|17901341|How I Became a Ghost|Tim Tingle|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374334746l/17901341._SY75_.jpg|25076772]
If you have more suggestions of books by Native Americans about native experiences, please drop them here!
Abit dark for children, but still full of whimsy. The ending was sadder than what I would've liked. All in all, a sweet book, but pry not one I have to read again.
2.5 rounded up to 3. I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if it wasn’t for the nostalgia of the Disney animated movie. It was an interesting story but I didn’t feel the same whimsy. So I appreciated the story but didn’t love it.
The original Peter Pan is a remarkable tale for its time. Barrie was a master storyteller and this tale has proven it. Don't watch the Disney movie, read the original book.
[a:Keith Yagerman|25350068|Keith Yagerman|https:images.gr-assets.com/authors/1675497216p2/25350068.jpg]- author of [bc:Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|102188662|Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|Keith Yagerman|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675662770l/102188662._SY75_.jpg|114268809]
[b:Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|102188662|Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|Keith Yagerman|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675662770l/102188662._SY75_.jpg|114268809]
[a:Keith Yagerman|25350068|Keith Yagerman|https:images.gr-assets.com/authors/1675497216p2/25350068.jpg]- author of [bc:Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|102188662|Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|Keith Yagerman|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675662770l/102188662._SY75_.jpg|114268809]
[b:Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|102188662|Braxton Rogers and the Brave New Beyond|Keith Yagerman|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675662770l/102188662._SY75_.jpg|114268809]
I think that as children's books go, this one is exceptionally charming. (Another one I'd consider "exceptionally charming" is Matilda.) I've read a lot of children's books this year because I read some with James and I read some to decide whether or not to read them with James, and many of them are just annoying if you're an adult. Not this one. I love the writing. It's a beautiful love letter to good mothers.
One thing that dates the book in an unfortunate way is that addition to the kids, the lost boys, pirates, and mermaids, the book also has Native Americans called "redskins."
"Peter Pan" was originally the third book in a series called "Peter and Wendy." The first book is "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" and the second is "the Little White Bird" and I haven't read them though they're both available as free ebooks.
One thing that dates the book in an unfortunate way is that addition to the kids, the lost boys, pirates, and mermaids, the book also has Native Americans called "redskins."
"Peter Pan" was originally the third book in a series called "Peter and Wendy." The first book is "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" and the second is "the Little White Bird" and I haven't read them though they're both available as free ebooks.
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