Product Description

When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492, what he discovered were the Taino Indians. Told from a young Taino boy’s point of view, this is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship. Years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45231 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780152013899
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
PW's starred review described this "stirring" book as a look at the dark underside of Christopher Columbus's adventure. "The message is blunt but the language in which it is couched is vintage Yolen, lyrical and impassioned. Shannon's visionary style is an ideal complement." Also available in a Spanish-language edition, Encuentro ($6, -201342-3). Ages 6-12.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2 - 5-- Readers weary of materials celebrating Columbus and his voyages will be refreshed and intrigued by this thought-provoking picture book. The imaginative story examines the first meeting between Columbus and the indigenous peoples of San Salvador (the Taino) through the eyes of a young native boy. The unnamed narrator has been warned in an ominous dream that the strangers may bring trouble to his people. His concerns are ignored, however, and the Taino greet their guests with customary feasting and gifts, only to be repaid by the abduction of several of their young people. Taken among the captives, the boy escapes and slowly makes his way home, trying to convince others along the way that the Spanish pose a threat, but to no avail. Yolen acknowledges in an author's note that no record of the Tainos' reaction to Columbus's arrival is available; this account is instead an evocative imagining of how things might have been. The haunting story is perfectly complemented by Shannon's powerful acrylic paintings. He mentions that, in fact, the Taino did not wear clothing, but feels that his decision to clothe them does not interfere with the plausibility or effectiveness of his presentation. A book that offers readers an alternative perspective on a well-known and much-celebrated historical event. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A poignant account of Columbus's landfall in the Americas, from a Taino boy's point of view. After a terrible prophetic dream, the lad begs his elders not to welcome the strangers, but they disregard him. He sees how they look at his people's gold; he temporarily becomes their captive; and at the end, as an old man, he sadly notes: ``We lost our lands...we gave our souls to their gods...our sons and daughters became their sons and daughters, no longer true humans....'' Shannon's dark, richly colored paintings brilliantly capture the story's emotion and the sense of worlds colliding; Europeans are rendered with a rugged realism that strongly recalls the work of N.C. Wyeth, and the Native Americans look like polished wooden figurines-- with the border between these two realities shifting and changing. The author closes with a historical note, while the illustrator ends with an apology for adding loincloths to his figures. O tempora! O mores! (Picture book. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic for "walking a mile in someone else's shoes".
First found this book when I was student teaching. Such a powerful book, both to teach history/social studies and to see that every story has two sides. I've been in 2 classrooms since and have decided I can't live without this book.

Historical Education
"The Encounter" written by Jane Yolen, is a historically accurate fiction. As a departure from the other writing style she shows, this book is not light-hearted, but rather a serious work written with an intention to educate. Of course, to keep the reader focussed and interested in a story that s/he may have heard hundreds of times already, some high drama is added.

The book leaves one with a slight over-all feeling of sorrow, but accomplishes its purpose. Read it, even if you decide not to own it. For a bit of a pick-me-up, re-read Jane Yolen's "Wizard's Hall" (very entertaining, even after four years of looking).

Brave New World
For the first few years in school, children learn about Columbus the hero. You get the ships and the voyage and the alleged discovery. When I taught third grade I would read this book around Columbus day and it was shock and awe with the kids. The thought that Columbus might not have been such a hero created dead silence around my room. Some felt duped by their second and first grade teachers. A conversation really begins to take hold about information and where it comes from and what you should or should not just assume to be true. It is higher level thinking at its best. After reading this book and having the discussions that followed, many of my students began asking many more questions about the other side of every argument. What a valuable lesson! For many of my students it was a brave new world.

Chris Bowen
Author of, Our Kids: Building Relationships in the Classroom