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Rating: 
Summary: A Great Collection of Stories
Review: "Spider Woman's Granddaughters" is a collection of traditional and modern short stories concerning Native American women. With the exception of the traditional stories and myths, Indian women wrote all of the stories. This was just one text out of many assigned for a class I took on Native American religion. At first glance I really didn't think this book would be very interesting. Most of the stories looked so short in length that I couldn't imagine they could convey anything of value. I was wrong. Most of the stories here are powerful evocations of Indian spirituality. A few are downright moving on an emotional level. The editor of this book wisely placed traditional stories before more modern stories that are based on that particular tradition or myth. This makes it much easier to understand the context for certain stories. Some stories lack a traditional base and deal with extremely modern issues such as homosexuality. In short, whatever type of story you may be looking for, you can probably find it in this book.Arguably the best story in the book is "Grace," a moving tale about two Indian siblings adopted by a friendly Indian couple. The two children suffered terribly in an orphanage and don't know how to respond to the kindness they receive from the couple. The children are taught some things about their culture by the couple and begin to come around, but within a few months the father dies and the kids are sent back to the orphanage. A very moving story that is tough to read. This story alone is worth the price of the book. Try to find this book if you're interested in Native American topics. I see Amazon has found some copies of the book recently. It was listed as out of print on Amazon for some time, but the copy I bought for class in the school bookstore was brand new. If you want to read this, you'll find a copy. Recommended (with conditions).
Rating: 
Summary: Great for classroom intro for Native American Lit
Review: What a great book. So many books that are available are on the stories of men (these are important too) but women are seldom heard from. We usually only hear of vision quests and warriors. This is a book that would introduce students to both sides of the story and the intro gives such insight to the Native American woman. Allen states the plights and goals of their women clearly and understandably. What is available in the canon is limited. This is a great book to lead into discussions and comparisons. It shows the otherside of stereotypes. It is interesting enough that students would not be bored. There are many selections that could be assigned and finished in one class period. A must for any language arts teacher or person interested in Native American lit- also great for a feminist point of view of another culture.
Rating:
Summary: Great for classroom intro for Native American Lit
Review: What a great book. So many books that are available are on the stories of men (these are important too) but women are seldom heard from. We usually only hear of vision quests and warriors. This is a book that would introduce students to both sides of the story and the intro gives such insight to the Native American woman. Allen states the plights and goals of their women clearly and understandably. What is available in the canon is limited. This is a great book to lead into discussions and comparisons. It shows the otherside of stereotypes. It is interesting enough that students would not be bored. There are many selections that could be assigned and finished in one class period. A must for any language arts teacher or person interested in Native American lit- also great for a feminist point of view of another culture.
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