Book Review: Red Bird Sings by Gina Capaldi and Q.L. Pierce

Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Sa, Native American Author, Musician and Activist
adapted by Gina Capaldi and Q.L. Pierce, with illustrations by Gina Capaldi (j Biography Zitkala-Sa)

When Zitkala-Sa was 8 years old, over her mother’s objections she left the Yankton reservation with a group of Quaker Missionaries who were recruiting students for the White’s Manual Labor Institute in Indiana. She loved learning how to read and write, she craved learning music and violin–she excelled at the opportunities available to her at the school. But she also saw that even though the Quakers were well-meaning, they were blind to the true needs of Indian children. They didn’t see the harm in taking the children’s language and traditions from them. After she spent three years with the Quakers, she came home to find she felt she no longer fit in with her family and neighbors. She was loyal to the Yankton ways yet felt she no longer belonged, so she returned to the Quaker school. After her years of being a student at White’s Manual Labor Institute and continuing at Earlham College, she went on to teach at Carlisle Indian Industrial School and also published articles in magazines and books. She became an accomplished musician and orator who spoke out for her people. Even though her “English” education made her feel separate from her traditions and culture and family, she made it her goal to use these skills to help enlighten Anglo society to the story of her people.

 

Red Bird Sings is a collection of essays previously written and published by Zitkala Sa, edited and illustrated by Gina Capaldi, an award winning illustrator and author of children’s non-fiction. Even though the essays are said to be “semi-autobiographical”, they are put together in such a way that one really feels the torment of the young Zitkala-Sa—how can she negotiate her interests in learning the Anglo ways even as she realizes that her talents are pulling her away from her family and her roots?

 

Awards for Red Bird Sings: Gold Medal- Carter G. Woodson Award, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS); Gold Medal, Moon Beam Award-Independent Publisher; Eureka! Honor Book, California Reading Association (CRA); Amelia Bloomer Book List-American Library Association (ALA); California Reading Association Booklist (CRA); SCBWI 2011 RAM Grant; California Readers 2013 California Collections: Elementary and Middle Grade lists.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try American Indian Stories by Zitkala-Sa, Voices of the People by Joseph Bruchac, Finish the Fight: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers or Stolen Words by Melanie Florence. Also, online: “Old Indian Legends” by Zitkala-Sa, Illustrated by Angel De Cora, a Winnebago painter, illustrator, Native American rights advocate, and teacher at Carlisle Indian School.)

 

( Wikipedia entry for Zitkala-Sa ) | ( official Gina Capaldi web site )

 

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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