"Grandfather’s Dream"

AUTHOR: Holly Keller PICTURES BY : Holly Keller
PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Brooks DATE: 1994
TOTAL PAGES: 29 CHAPTERS: None
TO BE READ BY CHILD? Yes, ages 6-8
ILLUSTRATIONS: The illustrations in this book nicely represent the culture and the atmosphere of this rather primitive Vietnam area. Keller uses simple, earth tone colors when portraying this small village, thus making the reader sense how rural and unpretentious the life of these humble people is. For example, one image shows an aerial view of the town during a monsoon. In this picture, there are many green and brown overtones used to color the rice fields as well as the huts the villagers live in. The colors are generally muted, having darker hues with only occasional pinkish tones interspersed, done perhaps used to shape the mood of the book. The characters themselves have little detail, again showing the simplicity within the Vietnamese culture and manner in which these people exist.
SUMMARY: Grandfather’s Dream is a multicultural book that endorses both wildlife awareness and appreciation for the traditions of the Vietnamese people. The story opens with a little boy named Nam having dinner around the table with his Grandfather, who goes on to tell the boy about the hundreds of cranes that would come to dwell in the village marsh every year before the Vietnam War. However, as he explains, “[t]hen the war came, and when it was over, [the cranes] were gone” (2). With the local dikes filled, the people want to use the land to farm more rice, but Grandfather believes the land should be used as a haven for the local cranes. The plot develops as Grandfather instructs Nam about the importance of the cranes returning to the village since the cranes symbolized good luck. He worries the people are losing their appreciation for their rich, ancestral heritage and seeks to continue it by sharing it with his grandson. The story ends with the dikes flooding once the monsoon season begins and the cranes return once again to the village. Upon their arrival, the locals decide not to farm the area, but rather to preserve it for the “good luck” cranes.
COMMENTS: While this story is generally benign in the way it portrays the people of this remote Vietnamese village, it does come across as a political piece advocating this ecumenical appreciation for every culture, even when certain cultures’ traditions or beliefs do not make sense. This idea of bringing back the cranes because the past villagers thought they carried good luck seems illogical and quite unfounded. Though it is usually fine to appreciate past traditions, Keller wrongly pushes this idea of appreciating fabricated superstitions, which is neither good nor healthy for children. When evaluating children’s books on culture, one cannot accept all cultures as good simply because they are ancient or diverse. Some cultures have traditions and beliefs that are not always worth promoting or preserving, which this book clearly indicates. Truly, children would be profit more from reading a fantasy book than a book that promotes such a bizarre perspective on one’s motivation for wanting cranes preserved.