By: Joseph Bruchac
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064408884
Date: August 5, 2003
Summary:
This book is about a young girl named Molly whose parents have disappeared. Molly is then placed in the care of a mysterious uncle that she knows is not truly related to her. Molly soon realizes that her uncle isn’t what he appears to be and his body is very similar to the Indian tale of the Skeleton Man story her father told her. Molly finds out that her so-called uncle is the reason behind her parents disappearance and sets out to free them and defeat the skeleton-man figure posing as her uncle.
Assessment:
This book is scary. For example, when I learned of the Mohawk legend of the Skeleton Man through Molly when she recited what her father had told her, I was really grossed out! I liked the story and I have to say I kept reading to find out what would happen to Molly and her parents. I was glad Molly had her happy ending but was concerned that the authorities couldn’t find out the true identity of the man posing as her uncle. Overall, I felt this was a good book due to the mystery aspect of the story and also the Native American influences. I liked how the chapters were not very long and feel this would help engage the reader.
Potential Use:
This book would be good to use for both pleasure reading and in a book club setting. I feel this story would be a great way to introduce Native American legends and mystery genre to students.
Reader Appeal:
I feel some students would be drawn to this story because it presents a scary Native American legend. Girls could be drawn to this story because Molly is a strong heroine. The chapters are short and I feel this would be less intimidating to young readers.
Other Information:
This book has won many awards such as the Prairie Pasque Award, Sequoyah Book Award and the Young Reader’s Choice Award. You can access this information by clicking on: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780064408882/Skeleton_Man/index.aspx.
You can also access the author’s website by clicking on: http://www.josephbruchac.com/. Here you will find interesting information about Mr. Bruchac and can hear some selected poems he has posted on his website.
This book is about a young girl named Molly whose parents have disappeared. Molly is then placed in the care of a mysterious uncle that she knows is not truly related to her. Molly soon realizes that her uncle isn’t what he appears to be and his body is very similar to the Indian tale of the Skeleton Man story her father told her. Molly finds out that her so-called uncle is the reason behind her parents disappearance and sets out to free them and defeat the skeleton-man figure posing as her uncle.
Assessment:
This book is scary. For example, when I learned of the Mohawk legend of the Skeleton Man through Molly when she recited what her father had told her, I was really grossed out! I liked the story and I have to say I kept reading to find out what would happen to Molly and her parents. I was glad Molly had her happy ending but was concerned that the authorities couldn’t find out the true identity of the man posing as her uncle. Overall, I felt this was a good book due to the mystery aspect of the story and also the Native American influences. I liked how the chapters were not very long and feel this would help engage the reader.
Potential Use:
This book would be good to use for both pleasure reading and in a book club setting. I feel this story would be a great way to introduce Native American legends and mystery genre to students.
Reader Appeal:
I feel some students would be drawn to this story because it presents a scary Native American legend. Girls could be drawn to this story because Molly is a strong heroine. The chapters are short and I feel this would be less intimidating to young readers.
Other Information:
This book has won many awards such as the Prairie Pasque Award, Sequoyah Book Award and the Young Reader’s Choice Award. You can access this information by clicking on: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780064408882/Skeleton_Man/index.aspx.
You can also access the author’s website by clicking on: http://www.josephbruchac.com/. Here you will find interesting information about Mr. Bruchac and can hear some selected poems he has posted on his website.
