Book Review by Marcia Abalama

Name of book: Go Home, River

Author: James Magdanz

Illustrator: Dianne Widom

Year Published: 1996 Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books

ISBN #: 0-88240-568-3

Grade level: I would recommend the grade level for this book to be K-3rd

Genre: Male

Realistic fiction [X] historical fiction [ ] fantasy [ ]

Cultural Perspective:

Stories: oral [ ] Teaching stories: [ ] Myth [ ] legend [ ]

Traditional stories: [ ] Someone else's stories: [X] Parable [ ]

Summary: This story is about a small boy and his adventure/travel with his father and mother to a trading camp. It talks about these boys learning experiences along the way, his father teaches different lessons. They finally end up at a place with other people who are there to trade their firs, baskets and other goods.

Author Background: James Magdanz, is not an Alaskan Native but has lived in Alaska for nearly two decades. He has photographed, written about and studied life in rural Alaska. He and his family permanently moved to Kotzebue in 1981, not far from the trading beach described in Go Home River. This story was a bedtime story that the author told to his son. It is about a trip that author and his family made into the Brooks Range in 1992.

Illustrator Background: Dianne Widom is not an Alaska Native but was a former resident of Nome. Her work is well known in rural Alaska. She now lives in Arizona.

Illustration:

This book was beautifully illustrated. Everyone was predicted as individuals. Widom used octopus ink to illustrate this book.

Vocabulary: The book is well written there weren't any stereotypes, or disrespect of the people written about.

Content: This story shares some Inupiat traditions, how they traveled to the coast to trade every summer. "One of the most important trade events in the Arctic occurred each summer at Sisualik; along gravel spit about ten miles northwest of the modern community of Kotzebue. It was a perfect location: near the mouth of three major rivers, and rich in fish and marine mammals to feed the traders (Magdanz, 1996)". In the back of the book is a historical note about how things might have been in 1875 along the Kobuk River and Kotzebue Sound.

Other things to look for when Reviewing Alaska Native Children's books:

There isn't anything in this book that would embarrass or hurt a Native child. There are lessons being taught by the father and mother along the trip. The boy had respect for his father, mother and others at the trading place.

In the front of the book both the author and illustrator gives thanks to a five-year-old boy from Kotzebue, Alaska and a five year-old-boy from Arizona who served as models for the boy in the story Go Home River.

Over All Rating of this Book:

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