In the diary account of her life at a government-run Pennsylvania boarding school in 1880, a twelve-year-old Sioux Indian girl reveals a great need to find a way to help her people.

This book is super inaccurate and also potentially psychologically damaging if it gets into the hands of Native kids. There are tons of books out now that do a much better job of telling this story without plagiarizing (which Rinaldi does!) and also that are also just better written. Read these instead:

---Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
---No Time to Say Goodbye by Sylvia Olsen, Rita Morris, Ann Sam (illustrated by Connie Paul and edited by school survivors)
---Shi-shi-etko by Nicola L. Campbell (illustrated by Kim LaFave)
---Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light by Tim Tingles (illustrated by Karen Clarkson)
---Mush-hole: Memories of a Residential School by Maddie Harper
---My Name Is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling
---As Long as the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden
---Behind Closed Doors: Stories from the Kamloops Indian Residential School book of photos
---Children Left Behind: The Dark Legacy of Indian Mission Boarding Schools book of photos ( )

00008762

00001244

I don't remember much of these books as individual books, but I remember reading them all as a young, avid reader. I think that ultimately these books are the reason why I love historical fiction novels so much. They all did such a great job of taking me to a different time and place and making it come alive, seeing the world through an older, historical lens. I highly recommend any of the Dear America books to younger readers who love history and need to get hooked on reading! ( )