Book Review:
The Education of Little Tree
This story is about how a boy is raised by Cherokee grandparents in late nineteen twenties, during the Great Depression. This boy, called Little Tree by his grandparents, begins to live with his Cherokee grandmother and Scottish-Cherokee grandfather due to his parents’ death when he is five years old. This boy is actually the author, Forrest Carter (1925 - 19779), and the story is categorized as the autobiographical novel based on his own experience.
The Appalachian mountains of Tennessee, where Little Tree and grandparents live, is located further away from the settlement, and they keep the Cherokee Indian lifestyle although they accept some of the white people’s life style. Grandpa makes scottish whiskey and sells it secretly because of the alcohol prohibition during this time. They grow corn for whiskey and some for them to eat, plant beans, peas, and potatoes, gather acorns and nuts, pick berries, fish catfish and bass, hunt animals for food and clothes, and believe in the Indian’s way of thinking. They attend church
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The reason of why The Education of Little Tree is assigned to read for this class is that we should know each family and culture are unique and important for children’s development. As a teacher, we should know that each child comes from different family and background, and it might be very different from ours, however, we should not judge and treat children unfairly due to the cultural differences. This book reminds us that there are families and cultures whose beliefs are different from other majority of people in this country, but these cultures need to be respected by us and be treated same as other majority beliefs. In this story, the unique and minor culture would be the Indian’s and the majority one would be the white settlers’ belief,