Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles (1971) was a difficult read for me. About the title: does a Navajo family name a child Annie? And about the first sentence: the Navajo world was good? I wouldn’t have had these questions in 1971. More than 50 years later, I have questions about reservation life. In the last 10 years, I’ve been told that my ancestors decimated the Native population. The expansive white population took ownership of what would become the United States, and corralled Native Americans into desolate deserts. Later, whites returned to mine and pollute the countryside. I find it difficult to separate the important story of family from this context, but I will try to comment on Annie’s struggle with death.
Annie’s grandmother, the Old One, states that she will return to the earth when Annie’s mother finishes weaving a blanket. Annie tries to prevent both. Her attempts remind us that a child’s behavior can have hidden motives. Annie accepts her grandmother’s passing by learning to weave. I hope that’s not all she does. I hope her school bus brings her additional alternatives.
Peter Parnall’s art won the book a Caldecott Honor.
