Pocahontas
Gr. 6-12. This vivid, detailed historical novel chronicles the relationship between Virginia colonists and the Powhatans as seen through the perspectives of Captain John Smith and 11-year-old Pocahontas, daughter of the Powhatan chief. As inSacajawea(2002), Bruchac successfully uses alternating chapters in which different characters--in this case, Pocahontas and Smith--describe the same situations. This technique enables readers to see the distinctly divergent worldviews. Smith's perspectives are prefaced with excerpts from the captain's own writings or from other sources of the period. Heading Pocahontas' accounts are stories told in the tradition of the Powhatans' Algonquin-rooted culture. In an afterword, Bruchac explains what eventually became of his narrators. The author goes to great lengths to present a historically accurate depiction (which may account for the nonfiction cataloging, 975.5), and he succeeds admirably, exposing the many myths and misconceptions made popular by Disney and others. Glossaries of terms used in the novel, source notes, and a bibliography are appended.Ed SullivanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.