The Heart of a Chief (Thorndike Large Print Juvenile Series)

Rating:
Summary: Heart Of a Chief
Review: Chief vs. Casino
I read Heart of a Chief. It is about a boy named Chris Nicloa. Chris is nervous because he is about to start his first day of middle school. Chris, to his surprise, becomes class leader and is very popular to the people in the school. He discovers that his town leaders have decided to place a casino on his island Penacock Indian Reservation. He decides to stand up for himself and class mates for what he believes in and to get the casino built somewhere off the island.
I think this a very good book because it shows someone with a lot of courage doing what he believes in. This book gives the mind encouragement in doing what's right. It makes you think anything is possible and worth trying. Chris is really bright and smart and does things that most people would be too scared to do. This is a heart-warming story that I think everyone can relate to in the end.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: I read this book for an Elementary Ed Teaching Literacy course, and I really enjoyed it. It seems very real, but also encouraging and hopeful. I like how it dispels some common stereotypes about Native Americans, but there are also many situations and emotions the main character experiences that can be related to any person of any ethnicity, which I think would help children see Native Americans as very much like themselves, but also appreciate their different ways of life.

I found some of the issues presented very relevant to real situations in New England (the school mascot names, the casino controversies, even some of the tribal names which correspond to places or rivers in New England that students may recognize).

This book teaches that even children can make a difference and people will listen if you stand up for what is right. It also exemplifies that there is always hope, possibilities, and alternative solutions to problems. It doesn't pretend there are no problems, it's real, and also encouraging.

I especially liked the stories that the wise old Doda told to teach life lessons. My favorite is in chapter 6. :) But I don't want to give it away.

I highly recommend the book!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, Sensitive, Heart-warming
Review: Joseph Bruchac presents a vivid and heart-warming story about the life of a contemporary Native American boy living between the wrenching descrimination and exploitation of his People and the beauty and peace of his home. I do not profess to know much about the Native American lifestyle, but I would trust any book Bruchac writes. His book has given me an authentic and sensitive picture of one boy's struggle to balance his heritage with the pressures of life on and off the reservation. I can now only imagine how this story is familiar to many people in the U.S. Beautifully written.