Skip to main content

"My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl"

Written by Ann Rinaldi

       
Image Source: socialjusticebooks.org
In preparation for historical realism my LIS 721 professor had us read Cynthia Smith's article, Fiction Posing As Truth: A Critical Review of Ann Rinaldi's My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl. I highly recommend you read the article before even considering reading this book. Rinaldi clearly did not do her homework and neither did her publishers. She was not historically accurate, unauthentic, and even appropriated from the headstones of Native children that supposedly "inspired" her. Generally, Rinaldi added to the many stereotypes that are used in materials created about Native peoples. Smith points out that Scholastic is a highly respected publisher and so parents and teachers would not think twice about purchasing or checking out this book. However, Rinaldi's carelessness is unacceptable. After reading this article I of course did not read this book. How could I spend the time reading a book that was so irresponsibly researched.
        When looking up more information on this book I found the Kirkus review from 1999, which does not mention the inaccuracies and instead unfortunately says it is a "strong addition to Rinaldi's ongoing historical explorations". However, in 2000, MariJo Moore wrote a review in the Studies in American Indian Literatures Spring volume. In her article, "Artistic License" Should Be Revoked If It Involves the Re-writing of History: My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, calls out the book for being inaccurate and racist.
        American Indians in Children's Literature is a great resource. They have lists of the best books, problematic books and more. In the top left corner, there is a search field where you can type the title of a book and it will show you any information they have on that title. Including a general list of problematic books. (My Heart is on the Ground is obviously on the problematic list and even has articles that discuss why it is so problematic.)


Rinaldi, Ann. My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose a Sioux Girl. Scholastic Inc., 1999. 205 pages. TR. $10.95, ISBN 0-590-14922-9.

Works Cited

Moore, MariJo. “‘Artistic License’ Should Be Revoked If It Involves the Re-writing of History: My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 12, no. 1, spring 2000, pp. 83–85. 2.

“My Heart Is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl.” Kirkus Review, 19 May 2010, www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ann-rinaldi/my-heart-is-on-the-ground/.

         Original publish date April 1, 1999.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let's get reading!

Welcome!  I will be using this blog to respond to and evaluate children's books for the LIS 721 Library Materials for Children class for Fall 2025. I really enjoyed and learned so much in the Materials for Young Adults class and hope to do the same in this class. Happy reading!
Post a Comment
Read more

"A Different Pond"

Written by Bao Phi                    Illustrated by Thi Bui Image Source: Amazon           The illustrations in "A Different Pond"  are almost all darker richer tones to depict the darkness of the hour that the Dad and the boy are up at. When there is light it is a deep yellow to show the warmth and comfort of their home, but also representing their lights without lamp shades to help diffuse the light in the house, as a lampshade is an extravagance for them. Thi does a wonderful job of using tones of blue and brown to shade the environment and shadows around the father and son that adds a beautiful depth to the images but also adds to the symbolism of the weight that the father feels everyday when he is fishing so that their family can eat.          The text in this book is appropriate for the children reading it and is a credible conversation. "A Different Pond" is a real...
Post a Comment
Read more

"A Little Like Magic"

Written and Illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel Image Source: readbrightly.com           The illustrations in "A Little Like Magic"  use a whimsical cool color scheme to help show the cold of the winter as they journey out in the cold. There are touches of warm colors when looking through windows into the warm house, as well as her toy horse to represent the warmth and comfort they bring. The full-page spreads that show the mother and child outside during the day use muted cool colors, while the full-page spreads at night use deeper, richer cool colors. Sarah does a wonderful job using lines to help show movement and the cold wind. The lines also help keep the eye moving throughout the spreads.          The text in this book is appropriate for the children reading it as it is simple and most of the language is vocabulary they would have heard before. Each page has one to three sentences. Repetition is used when the main character revi...
Post a Comment
Read more