Geronimo (Scholastic Special Edition)

By Joseph Bruchac

Book Overview

Acclaimed author Joseph Bruchac weaves history and suspense into a riveting account of Geronimo's last days. "He held up his right hand to show how his third finger was bent back from being struck by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0439929415
• ISBN13: 9780439929417
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great

Bought this book : Service was good Showed up quickly looks new pages fine crisp Great book!

I now know a different Geronimo

What a great historical fiction story of Geronimo, told through the eyes of fictional grandson. The story focuses mainly on the imprisonment of the Apache Indians who were taken from their homes in the Southwestern US to live in the Southeastern half of our country. Geronimo was a powerful leader but along with other leaders he was separated from his family, including his grandson, and sent to live in a different relocation camp from them. Author, Bruchac,is a great storyteller. He was able to weave humor in and out of the story. Even though there were many parts that may appear cumbersome to read and handle for an upper elementary or middle school student, Bruchac, had the anecdotes perfectly placed to keep a reader's interest. When I book talk this book with my students, there are several occasions where I'm be able to read excerpts that will pique their interest enough to maybe check the book out on their own. Bruchac gives a reader a different perspective of the Apache Indian. One who is enterprising, innovative and true to one's family. The book allows the reader to form a much different opinion of a tribe that through out history has been portrayed as a very violent tribe.

A Gentle Read

Okay, call me easy to please. I loved this book. I love historical fiction anyway. I loved the chapter headings which were excerpts from historical documents. I loved the point of view --grandchildren tend to love their grandparents unconditionally. The feeling of the great respect that the author has for Geronimo comes through loud and clear. How can reading about a people being forced into exile be boring? It was heartbreaking. For me, there was a sense of relief once Geronimo was reunited with some of his wives and children. The telling of this story taught me a few of the more obscure facts of the "Indian Wars" such as the fact that Chiricahua Apaches "prisoners of war" were encouraged to join the Army but upon their honorable discharges, they weren't allowed back into the prisoner of war camps (relocation centers such as Mount Vernon, Alabama) because as former soldiers, they were no longer prisoners of war and then unable rejoin their families. The book was a tender view of a man the world likes to see in anything but a tender way. Five Stars.

Waiting For A Memory...

Geronimo was a legendary figure in American culture, and during the last half of his lifetime, a tourist attraction wherever he went. And while Joseph Bruchac's novel GERONIMO describes this vividly, he also paints a portrait of a real man. Told through the eyes of "Little Foot" or "Willie" this fictional grandchild of Geronimo is responsible for passing on his legacy through the stories he shares. "Remember That is what I now do. I tell the story as best I can. With each line of my tale I will place a kernel of corn on the ground. Then, when I am done, that corn will be there for you to pick up. Eat it and this story may stay with you as it has stayed with me. Do not fall asleep, or the story may be broken, as were our lives. Listen" (5). While it doesn't follow strictly chronological guidelines, the main story takes place between 1883 and 1908. The heart of the story is the imprisonment of the Apache Indians--yes, I know there is a more descriptive, more accurate name, and their exile from their land in Arizona. They were deported by train, under guard, to camps and forts in Alabamba and Florida. The train carrying Geronimo became a tourist attraction at every stop along the way, and a money-making venture. "'They are waiting for a memory,' Wratten said to me as we passed slowly by yet another great crowd of waving, shouting people. 'They want to be able to tell their children they saw Geronimo.'" (78) The memories they make for themselves in their new homes were anything but pleasant. Full of hard work, sadness, depression, and disease--their camps were prone to malaria--they were often separated from their families...wives from husbands, and children from parents. Many children were sent to a school in Pennsylvania where many became sick with tuberculosis and died. Woven into the stories of hardships and broken promises, are stories of the past both pleasant and bittersweet. Their days of peace and contentment, and their days of battle fighting the Mexicans and Americans. Beautifully written, I hope this book finds its audience because it is a truly memorable book.