Monday, February 25, 2013
Grass Dancer
Alright, I really try to give the author the benefit of the doubt and I really try to believe that some student will like the book, even if I don't and I need to keep an open mind. However, with this book, I really am having a hard time trying to wrap my mind around a student actually enjoying this book. It was definitely hard for me to follow afterwhile which is odd for me because I can read four different books at once and keep them all straight. Right away in the beginning the way the characters would just shift with nothing more than an extra space inbetween them, I was confused. It happened so quickly and sometimes the segments were so brief that I didn't even get a chance to realize that someone new was thinking. Also, I felt like some of the character's choices were unbelieveable. Right away on page 39 when Pumpkin slips off her clothes at random when she is with Harley, I was really turned off from the book at this point because it just seemed so uncharacter-like. I don't know how I feel about this book. I know that I most likely would not use it as a class book and rather would just give it to an individual to read who I felt was advanced enough to keep the stories straight.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think that this book would be more difficult to teach as a whole, and would need to be in a more advanced classroom in order to do it. I think that pulling out different stories to have students read may be more efficient to teach Native American culture.
ReplyDeleteDo you think teaching this book as individual stories would be better? As a whole novel, this book could be really overwhelming. How would you feel about pairing "True Diary" with a few of the stories from "Grass Dancer"? Using it in this way may make it less challenging for students.
ReplyDeleteThis was the second time reading "Grass Dancer", and that made all the difference for me. I strongly disliked this novel on the first read, but really enjoyed it on the second read. I think knowing what to expect from the style and content made it easier. I was already familiar with the time jumps and with the stories, so I could focus more on details that were missed the first time around. Hopefully you will have the opportunity to re-read in the future.
-Allison
Given the choice, I think I would much rather teach True Diary. I also struggled keeping the stories straight. But I think it does offer some good cultural reference at the same time.
ReplyDelete