Alice Yazzie's Year
Book Review:
"Time is the thing," Alice Yazzie thinks to herself one December
night as she considers weaving a rug; and indeed, she is right. For
time is the thing which will bring not only spring and the sheep shearing
and wool gathering necessary for her rug, but time will carry with it
other changes in Alice's life as well.
Alice Yazzie's Year, originally written by Ramona Maher in 1977
and reissued with Shonto Begay's new illustrations in 2003, depicts
events in a year of the life of an eleven-year-old Navajo girl. Alice
and her grandfather create a loving family who share in the good and
bad experiences of their lives. From a trip to Disneyland to the death
of a close friend, Alice lives, learns and grows with the changes time
and growing up bring. The book concludes with notes on Navajo culture,
written by Carl N. Gorman, a Navajo Community College administrator
in Arizona.
A picture book by definition, the striking emotional and poetic approaches
of the text make Alice Yazzie's Year a powerful read for all ages. Shonto
Begay's captivating impressionistic illustrations, rendered in Southwestern
colors and images, enhance the story's setting and, frequently, its
tone. Begay's use of impressionism is particularly notable as the technique
lends itself well to individual interpretation on the part of the reader.
Not only will Alice Yazzie's Year introduce young readers to
Navajo language and culture, but it will also encourage them to reflect
on their own lives and to define a year not as a series of days or months
but as a collection of events and experiences, which truly shape who
we are.
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