Richard Schmitt
ED693
Critiquing Indigenous Literature
Book Review #4

March 23, 2006

Book Title: An Eskimo Birthday
Author: Tom D. Robinson
Illustrator: Glo Coalson
Published: 1975
Publisher: Dodd, Mead and Company
ISBN: 0-396-07065-5
Grade Level: 3.0-5.0
Genre: Fiction

Summery:

Set in the Inupiaq Eskimo village of Point Hope, Alaska, a little girl named Eeka is having her birthday. More than anything else, Eeka is looking forward to the parka her mother is making for her. Her father is out checking his trap line for the fox skin that will trim Eeka's parka. But a big storm with white out conditions hits and father's safe return is in jeopardy. Eventually he does return, but the drifting snow has covered his traps and he has no fox skins for Eeka's parka. At the birthday party that evening, Eeka's grandfather surprises everyone with a beautiful white fox skin bought from the store. Eeka's parka now has fur for the trim. Grandfather has saved the day with his surprise.

Author:

Tom B. Robinson was born and raised in Bellingham, Washington and received degrees from Washington State University as well as Western Washington State College. He and his wife moved to Alaska to teach with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and then moved to Point Hope where they spent four years. By the time of the book's publication (1975), the Robinsons were living in Nome, Alaska where Mr. Robinson was a Special Education Specialist.

Illustrator:

Glo Coalson is originally from Abilene, Kansas where she studied at Abilene Christian College. She has been to Alaska twice and during her visits became friends of the author and his family. At the time of this book's publication, (1975), Miss Coalson was living and working in New York City.

Tribal Group Portrayed: Inupiaq Eskimo.

Stereotypes:

This book is distinctive in the realistic manner in which the characters are depicted, both in the text as well as in the illustrations. Each of the characters is individual and unique. Each has realistic personality, sensitivities and concerns. The artwork almost seems to have drawn from photos and is notably familiar in it's' detail.

Loaded words:

The characters speak both English and Inupiaq. However, we never "hear" the Inupiaq speakers. The author merely lets the reader know that the elders are speaking in Inupiaq. In this way the author avoids the disrespectful pitfall of using the Inupiaq language incorrectly. He then also puts the reader in the main character, Eeka's, point of view in that she also does not understand Inupiaq. The one word spoken is "aapa" which is commonly used and means in Inupiaq, "grandfather".

Tokenism:

None of the characters are included in the story just to fulfill reader's stereotypic expectations. All are realistic and essential elements to the plot.

Distorted history:

The book captures a specific point in the history of Point Hope characterized by transition between the old and the new. In the author's note at the end of the book, Mr. Robinson states; "Point Hope is both the old and the new-young and growing-ancient and solid. There are some old people who speak very little English and wear tennis shoes, and young people who speak very little Eskimo and wear caribou mukluks. It is perhaps the best of both worlds."

The author has captured this moment in the history of Point Hope very well. Point Hope in the early 1970's was experiencing the incursion of modern conveniences. There was a telephone in the village, and mail service by plane five times a week. People had snow machines and electric lights. The village had not yet been moved to its current location, but there was a new store stocked with hardware, washing machines and freezers full of ice cream and frozen meat.

Distorted lifestyles:

Again, the author has made a successful effort to realistically depict the lifestyle of Point Hope and its people. The risks that men took in going out onto the tundra and sea ice are as true today as it was when the author lived in Point Hope. A little girl's excitement about her birthday is also proverbially true. Warm family relationships are a feature of Inupiaq life that the author has conveyed in his book, particularly the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.

Dialogue:

The dialogue between all the characters in the story is realistic.

Standards of success:

One of the aspects of the story that the author tells about is the way that the traditional economy interacts with the modern cash economy. As Eeka and her mother are at the store, they comment on the expense of the furs for sale there. The irony is that the people who trap the animals cannot afford to buy the furs they have trapped. The furs are now worth more to them as cash. Therefore, in order to provide for his daughter's parka, Eeka's father must trap new animals rather than buy them at the store. It is only Grandfather's selling of a baleen basket (part of the cash economy) that gives the family the cash to purchase the furs at the store. The precariousness and difficulty of earning a living on the land is felt by the father who returns from the trap line empty-handed. In this way the author has shown how the two economic systems can intimately affect people's lives as they struggle to be successful in both.

Roles of Women:

Gender roles are shown in a true and balanced way throughout the story. The mother cooks, sews and does the shopping. The father traps and hunts, while the grandfather tells his stories and makes handicrafts to sell at the store. Children help with chores and babysitting. Everyone has a job and everyone does their job. Everyone is respected and valued for the contribution they can make to the family and community.

Roles of elders:

In this story, the grandfather is the hero in that he provides the cash to purchase the furs for Eeka's parka. Throughout the book he tells stories that the children listen to and he makes handicrafts to provide the family with much needed cash. Grandfather's value to the family and especially to his granddaughter is evident by their loving and warm interactions.

Effect on children's self esteem:

The book is about a little girl and her concerns about her birthday. These are concerns of any child. That this is the central theme of the story should be reassuring and validating to most children. The children are shown to live in a caring and close family setting with responsible and loving parents.

The author's background:

The author lived and taught in Point Hope for four years.

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