The Red Sash
Author: Jean E. Pendziwol
Illustrator: Nicolas Debon Publisher: Groundwood Books/ House of Anansi Press Year of Publication: 2005 Genre: Picture Book Horn Book or Kirkus Review Rating: Hornbook rating of a 2 Summary: The Red Sash is a great children’s book about a young Native American boy that is at the heart of this charming adventure that took place nearly 200 years ago. The story is centered around the fur trading post of Fort William on Lake Superior. During winter months the boys father guides voyagers into the northwest to trade furs. It’s a time of feasting, dancing, and trading stories around the campfire. But a storm hits and the boy in the story saves the day. Summary of Professional Review: According to Horn Book Reviews, The Red Sash received a rating of a 2. The review gives a brief but detailed description of the book. It brings emphasis on the time period of the book and how important the time and place are in regards to the story. Media spreads by Debon are accurately created to fit the story according to the Horn Book Review as well. |
Review by Sasha Ishak: The Red Sash is a wonderful storybook for children who are young. The author does a marvelous job at describing Metis’s life in the early 19th century. He provides vivid details that allow the reader to feel as though they were there during the fur trade act. The story is very serious yet so informative. It informs a reader of what was going on during this time period ad tells us about the struggles the voyagers faced. The author tries to portray a variety of moods in the story that make it interesting and inviting. The illustrations are detailed and include many bright vivid colors that catch a readers attention. The text is simple but the sentences are long in some ways. But the vocabulary is something a fourth grader can understand without difficulty. The details, illustrations, and real life story helps the reader recognize a very important time period in History.
This book would be useful when teaching.... The Red Sash can be used in a lesson on the importance of helping one another. Throughout the book the young boy helps land the canoe and saves the day. This story can be used with third or fourth grade because of the vocabulary. The teacher can read this book the the class then discuss the importance of helping people who are struggling. This will help students work together, and even build relationships within a classroom. The Red Sash can also be used to introduce important events of History in a Social Studies lesson. Students can research the Fur Trade with the help of the teacher but this lesson has to be done in fourth grade. The teacher can talk about the Fur Trade in further detail and have the students create their own gift just like the gift the boy received in the storybook. They can create their gift based on the time period and they would have to use materials to create a 2 dimensional gift. After their gift is created the students will share it with their peers. |