Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac is a reinterpretation of an old Abenaki Indian story. A girl, in the sixth grade, named Molly wakes up one morning to find that her parents are missing. She is taken in by a mysterious man claiming to be her long-lost uncle. She doubts that this man is really her uncle, she's never seen or heard of him before. Unfortunately, none of the adults will listen to her concerns, except, eventually, her "show-tune singing crazy teacher. Her "Uncle's" behavior is very mysterious and she believes that her parents are alive and trying to return to her. She is having dreams that she feels are premonitions and she decides that she alone must unravel the mystery, find out who this person posing as her uncle is and locate her parents.I was really taken by this story. I could feel the suspense building with each chapter. I enjoyed the fact that it was all told from the perspective of the girl. I could feel her frustration when the adults ignored her protesting. She was going home with this stranger and there would be no discussions about it. I could feel her sense of helplessness. She was just a child and adults have a tendency to disregard children, especially ones with active imaginations.
This story made me think about my own dealings with the children I teach. I try to listen to every child but I am sure that those kids that have reputations as "storytellers" are dismissed more easily. All anyone wants is to be heard, even the children with overactive imaginations. Because we must encourage imagination in children, it is like a muscle the less you use it the weaker it becomes.
Hey David! Wow, this book sounds very suspenseful! I loved the lesson you pulled from this story. Every child has a story and we may not always know or understand it. Dismissing them could be very tragic because we may be the only set of ears during the day that will listen to them. Imagination is key to success, especially with those little learners. This will definitely be going on my list of books I want to read. Great post!
ReplyDelete"Because we must encourage imagination in children, it is like a muscle the less you use it the weaker it becomes." Isn't that the truth? Have you had a chance to view one of the most popular TED talks of all time? Ken Robins--Do Schools Kill Creativity? (see: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity) If not, check it out!
ReplyDeleteAwesome job, David! Your description of the plot kind of reminds me of the Series of Unfortunate Events. Reading a story from the perspective of a child being ignored by adults makes me so frustrated! It makes me feel like I'm not being heard, either. You're very right about everyone wanting to be heard and encouraging imagination. Great job!
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