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Summary
Summary
The story of one of the most important figures in Native American history is brought to life for middle grade readers.
Thirteen-year-old Uwohali has not seen his father, Sequoyah, for many years. So when Sequoyah returns to the village, Uwohali is eager to reconnect. But Sequoyah's new obsession with making strange markings causes friends and neighbors in their tribe to wonder whether he is crazy, or worse-practicing witchcraft. What they don't know, and what Uwohali discovers, is that Sequoyah is a genius and his strange markings are actually an alphabet representing the sounds of the Cherokee language.
The story of one of the most important figures in Native American history is brought to life for middle grade readers.
Author Notes
Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed children's book author, poet, novelist, and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola . He has authored many books for adults and children, including Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two , Skeleton Man , and The Heart of a Chief .
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Many of the people in 13-year-old Uwohali's Cherokee village are whispering about his father, Sequoyah. Sequoyah has just returned from a six-year stay in Arkansas, and he spends all his time writing strange symbols on paper and scratching marks in the dirt. People whisper that Sequoyah must be crazy, and they fear his strange marks are a form of witchcraft. These murmurings are difficult for Uwohali to hear, since what he wants more than anything is to forge a bond with his father. When he eventually works up enough courage to approach his father, Uwohali discovers the symbols actually represent 86 sounds in the Cherokee syllabary Sequoyah has created. Believing in the importance of the Cherokees having their own written language to hold on to history and stories, Sequoyah is on a mission to create a written language that does not rely on the white man's letters. When Uwohali finally understands the importance of his father's vision and the impact it will have on his community, he is eager to help. But convincing their friends and neighbors doesn't prove easy, and Uwohali must work hard to avoid danger to both himself and his family. Bruchac does a phenomenal job narrating, and his quiet, serious tone is a perfect match for Uwohali's introspective personality. Hearing the Cherokee words spoken aloud makes the narrative come alive. An afterword provides additional information about the real-life Sequoyah and the legacy of the alphabet he created. VERDICT This title helps readers understand how important language can be to preserving a people's culture, and it will be a valuable addition to historical fiction collections. ["This is a strong middle grade novel that offers a needed perspective on Cherokee history and the life of a key historical figure": SLJ 7/16 starred review of the Dial book.]-Anne Bozievich, Friendship Elementary School, Glen Rock, PA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Cherokee villagers of Willstown avoid Uwohali's father, Sequoyah-despite his artistry and storytelling skills-believing that his fascination with strange symbols indicates witchcraft. Although Sequoyah has been largely absent from his son's life, traveling and starting a new family with a second wife, Uwohali braves the villagers' ill will to visit his recently returned father and is rewarded with a devoted half sister and his father's new invention, a Cherokee syllabary. Frustrated by false promises and loss of land due to treaties broken by the government, Sequoyah seeks power and community through the syllabary, which allowed the Cherokee to create their own texts, or talking leaves. Based on historical events, Bruchac's (Killer of Enemies) lyrical novel is filled with myths and fables that serve as guides for Uwohali as he comes to understand the importance of his father's creation. Wrenching descriptions of the 1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend help transform an ostensibly simple story into a profound cautionary tale of what can happen without a language of one's own. An afterword and reproduction of the syllabary are included. Ages 10-up. Agent: Barbara Kouts, Barbara Kouts Agency. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Told in a conversational voice, Bruchac's novel introduces Sequoyah through the first-person narration of Uwohali, his oldest son. In the nineteenth-century culture of the Tsalagi (Cherokee) nation, wives could ask their husbands to leave their houses and thus divorce them. That is precisely what Uwohali's mother did, and his father, Sequoyah, moved out, subsequently remarrying, fathering a daughter, and working on his now-famous Cherokee syllabary. But when Sequoyah returns to Uwohali's village, many of the inhabitants view both him and his strange syllabary as witchcraft. Thirteen-year-old Uwohali instead sees a father he would like to know, a father from whom he can learn. But he's uncertain about how this father will receive him. Does Sequoyah even know who he is? Has his new family, especially his half-sister Ahyokah, taken all of Sequoyah's love? Although the particulars of the novel occur two hundred years ago, the universality of fitting into a blended family and looking for love and acceptance from a once-absent father feel strikingly contemporary. Through limited direct address, Uwohali shares historical information naturally within the context of the story: i.e., stickball (modern-day lacrosse) "is not a game you play every day. You need larger teams to play it." And the incorporation of many Tsalagi legends adds a natural authenticity to this fine novel, which includes a historical note, two glossaries of words and names, Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary, and suggestions for further reading. betty carter (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A boy grapples with the return of his father, Sequoyah, and the creation of a Cherokee syllabary.Bruchac reimagines a pivotal moment in Tsalagi (Cherokee) history through the eyes of a boy on the cusp of manhood. Uwohali's father, Sequoyah, has returned from the West with a new wife and a daughter. Raised by his mother and uncles, Uwohali struggles between his longing to reconnect with his father and his loyalty to his mother's clan. Complicating matters are the rumors that Sequoyah practices black magic. Drawn by the desire to learn something useful from his father, Uwohali reacquaints himself with Sequoyah. His father wishes to save Tsalagi tradition by creating a syllabary similar to the whites' "talking leaves." Soon Uwohali burns with the same desire as his father. He and his family must work together to convince the Tsalagi to adopt Sequoyah's syllabary in order to preserve their culture and identity. Bruchac gives readers a vivid look into the life of a Cherokee boy in 1821. His extensive research is evidenced by details such as Tsalagi women's prominent social status and a survivor's retelling of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Themes of preserving identity and culture through both spoken and written language will appeal to readers of all ages.A vivid retelling of a pivotal time for the Cherokee nation. (cast of characters, afterword, printed syllabary, glossary, further reading) (Historical fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A veteran storyteller pairs Sequoyah, whom he dubs a true genius, with a fictional son troubled by his father's abandonment and strange behavior. Thirteen-year-old Uwohali is slow to approach his estranged father, Sequoyah, who is absorbed in creating his unique syllabary. When Uwohali finally steels himself to make contact, he receives, in addition to a warm welcome, a life-changing understanding of what his father's invention might do to preserve their people's culture and identity against the inroads of the Aniyonega (whites). The book's restrained tone and deliberate pacing may make it a slog for less patient readers, but Bruchac livens the proceedings with inset folktales, low-key humor, and a heartrending reminiscence of the brutal Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Sequoyah's life and achievements get fuller treatment in Rumford's Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing (2004), but Bruchac's portrayal of a father and son mending fences adds a more universal element. He closes with a complete chart of the syllabary's symbols, a glossary, and notes on his sources.--Peters, John Copyright 2016 Booklist
Table of Contents
| 1 My Father Is Crazy | p. 3 |
| 2 My Mother Is Worried | p. 10 |
| 3 Sitting and Thinking | p. 21 |
| 4 I Greet You, Young Man | p. 36 |
| 5 Ahyokah's Friends | p. 48 |
| 6 Marbles | p. 56 |
| 7 The Chunkey Players | p. 66 |
| 8 Confused Thoughts | p. 79 |
| 9 At the Town House | p. 84 |
| 10 My Mother Knows | p. 99 |
| 11 An Uncertain Fish | p. 104 |
| 12 Marks in the Clay | p. 115 |
| 13 I Agree | p. 123 |
| 14 Leaves That Talk | p. 128 |
| 15 Going to War | p. 143 |
| 16 Horseshoe Bend | p. 153 |
| 17 86 Symbols | p. 163 |
| 18 Yugi's Warning | p. 170 |
| 19 Seeing the Sun Land | p. 179 |
| 20 Learning | p. 188 |
| 21 Footsteps | p. 200 |
| 22 The Village Chief's Visit | p. 212 |
| 23 Good or Bad | p. 220 |
| 24 The Test | p. 227 |
| Afterword | p. 237 |
| Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary | p. 239 |
| Cherokee Words | p. 240 |
| Further Reading | p. 242 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 244 |