Product Description

Literature GuidesA complete guide to teaching Guests. Includes an author biography, background information, summaries, thought-provoking discussion questions, as well as creative, cross-curricular activities and reproducibles that motivate students.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61020 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From Publishers Weekly
At dawn, as the "light from the smoke hole in the roof turned from black to gray," Moss is playing with a string of wampum when it breaks apart, scattering abalone shell beads in many directions. The design of the beads had held a story "from long ago," and even Moss's grandfather can't recall the beads' arrangement. "Now you owe us a story, Moss," he tells his grandson gravely. Dorris (Morning Girl) gives this boy in search of a story a fine tale to tell. Moss, a gentle and penetrating narrator, reaches deep within himself and delves into the fertile ground of his tribe's legends. Disgruntled that his father has invited strangers from another tribe to the family's harvest feast, Moss disappears into the woods, where he unexpectedly experiences his "away time," a rite of passage that involves-in Moss's case-a conversation with a special porcupine. This episode, and his unprecedented communication with Trouble, a village girl who follows him into the forest, transform Moss by the time he returns home to share the feast with his family and their guests, whom he holds responsible for "every strange and confusing thing that had happened to me today." Though his narrative may at times seem a little subtle for the intended audience, Dorris has drawn a piercing portrait of a boy and the powerful traditions that shape him. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Moss's father extends his hospitality to a group of strangers who speak an entirely different language and who make the boy "uncomfortable with their oddness." When his efforts to convince his parents that the guests should not participate in his people's harvest feast are rebuked, Moss runs away into the nearby forest. There he meets Trouble, a distant relative, and in trying to impress her, finds himself forced into his "away time." Lost in the woods, he learns to look and listen, and begins to realize what it means to be a man during an encounter with a porcupine. He also finds solace in his conversations with Trouble, who eventually helps him find his way out of the forest. Though she is struggling with the strictures placed upon young women in her clan, they share universal early adolescent emotions about the lack of understanding their families afford them. Dorris's writing is elegant, full of evocative images and lush metaphors. He develops his intriguing characters in a leisurely way, and places little emphasis on plot. Young readers will need to work hard to piece together the clues that suggest the setting (someplace by the sea) and the identity of the guests (probably white settlers since they arrived after following a "trail through the sea"). They will be able to comprehend the words, but some may miss the story's ultimate meaning.
Ellen Fader, Oregon State Library, Salem
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. Without portentous stereotypes, Dorris tells a story of a Native American boy who leaves home to find himself. Moss isn't sure why he walks away into the forest. His life seems stale. What's more, he's mad at his father for inviting a group of white strangers to be guests at the village harvest festival. Lost and alone, Moss opens up to the natural world and becomes "the forest's welcomed guest." He meets a fierce runaway girl, and they help each other get home. Moss knows that he hasn't encountered a noble mentor on his vision quest; he hasn't suddenly become "a man." What he has found is a new view of himself and the world around him. He realizes he has been selfish and inhospitable. And now he can see that neither the guests nor the village hosts are comfortable at the feast. They can't understand each other. The strangers are hungry, but why are they so greedy and grasping? Even for a sensitive boy, Moss seems too articulate about his inner journey. But Dorris dramatizes that universal experience of feeling stuck at home, as well as the excitement of finding what you didn't know was there. As in Morning Girl (1993), the encounter with Europeans is seen through the eyes of a young person. Several stirring old creation stories woven into the narrative underline Moss' quest for both freedom and responsibility. Dorris' casual sentences are simple and beautiful, showing in their very particularity that Moss discovers the wonder of familiar things. Hazel Rochman

Customer Reviews

For people who want to find about Native Americans!
One day Moss, a young Native American boy, follows Trouble, a young Native American girl, into a clearing in the woods to see where she is going. Moss talks to Trouble, lies to her about being on his away time, walks into the woods without any weapons or tools, and he gets lost. In the woods, Moss meets and talks to a porcupine, and the porcupine tells Moss not to be afraid of the guests that are coming to Moss's village. Moss thinks about the advice the porcupine gives him. Moss sleeps in the woods, and in the morning he finds his way out. Outside the woods Moss meets Trouble, and they talk as they walk back to their village. When they are at their village they see that the guests have arrived. They are worried!

Michael Dorris wrote this book very well. This story would be a good book for people who like adventure! It wouldn't be such a good book for people under the age of 8 because it is a little confusing. It was very interesting and it made me want to read on. If you are able to check out this book out or borrow it, my advice is that you read it.

Guests: A book reveiw
Bray Ferguson
May 27, 2003
Community 7-213

Guests
Guests by Michael Dorris, was intriguing and suspenseful. As the authors explains the beautiful woodlands in the Northeast, he revisits his childhood by explaining to the reader that he, himself grew-up in an Indian tribe and fell in love, as did the boy, Moss.

He finds a girl and usually is scarred to talk to girls, but no, not this time, he smiles back. He tries to show his tribe and himself that anything is possible, just do everything you can. Moss keeps trying and he soon finds that in life nothing comes easily. Everyone tries to make as simple and sweet as possible, but as Moss tries to do exactly that, he finds himself getting much more out of it, LOVE!

This book was both adventurous, but still like a love story. As he was walking through the forest one day, thinking about life, he came across a magical porcupine. He started talking to him, and Moss was amazed. The magical lady porcupine told him the most important thing he needed to hear, "you are who you are, an no one can tell you the truth about that." I think everyone at one time needs to hear that. Ii wish we all had magical porcupines.

Moss is a normal boy, he gets into trouble a little to easily, but he always gets out of it. He enjoys walking in the woods and talking to the magical porcupine, he wants to be understood, and eventually, he is.

I enjoyed the book, but some chapters were hard to get through. To find out what happens to Moss, his girlfriend, and the magical porcupine, read the book Guests by Michael Dorris.

Thanksgiving through a looking glass
Michael Dorris' multi-level story of "the first Thanksgiving" flows from the point of view of Moss, a Native American boy-man. Different languages, customs, and mores gently clashed - the strange guests didn't bring gifts or even their own eating utensils. (Actually, the Pilgrims and their progeny brought plenty of gifts: guns, whiskey, and small-pox laden blankets - but that's another story for another day.) Why, as both groups were wary of the other, did the Natives invite the interlopers to the harvest feast? Simple, as Moss' father explains:

"Because. They. Are. Hungry."

This is a beautiful tale for everyone. The existentialism of Moss' journey, the envelopment in the forest primaeval, are enthralling and enchanting. Reviewed by TundraVision