Starred review from September 1, 2024
An Indigenous man passes on his culture of resilience. Renowned Hopi carver Honyouti (Iswungwa) tells the true story of how his kwa'a (grandfather) Clyde survived the terror of residential boarding school. Despite his parents' brave attempts to hide him from government agents, Clyde was taken to Keams Canyon, Arizona. He and the other Native children brought there were forced to cut their hair and assume "a good Christian name." Yet every trauma the children endured was met with resistance. When they were punished for speaking Hopi, the kids "whispered to each other instead." When Clyde and his friend were whipped for trying to run away from the school, they didn't give up--they tried again to return to their families. Even the forced adoption of a new name became an act of rebellion. Though "Honyouti" became Clyde's last name due to an agent's misunderstanding of his real name, Honkuku, his family takes pride in the name's meaning: "a pack of bears that are running together." Honyouti's rich wood carvings, painted with acrylics, beautifully illuminate this account of ancestral pride, Indigenous power, and intergenerational memory. The text is presented in both English and Hopilavayi and concludes with backmatter about Hopi history, Parra's work translating the story, and Honyouti's art. This powerful tale is a much-needed reminder that the stories of Indigenous peoples, despite being threaded with trauma, are marked by defiance and pride. A stirring tribute to Hopi culture, language, and resistance.(Picture-book biography. 6-10)
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
September 9, 2024
In this intergenerational telling, Hopi woodcarver Honyouti relays some of his grandfather’s childhood experiences at a residential boarding school. Beginning with a portrait of the narrator in his youth working with his kwa’a in a cornfield, the extended narrative, conveyed side-by-side in English and Hopilavayi, lingers on the way kwa’a cares for “each individual stalk.” The story then shifts to kwa’a’s childhood, during which he was taken, with other kids from the village, to a residential boarding school, despite his parents’ efforts to hide him. At Keams Canyon, the children were forced to cut their hair and take new names, and were punished for speaking Hopilavayi. Kwa’a, who “decided he would never let anyone take his language and love for his culture,” tries repeatedly to run away, only to be disciplined each time. When he returns home at last, he chooses a farmer’s life, taking “great care for his plants, just like he took great care of his family.” Acrylic-painted relief carvings portray stylized landscapes and rooms alongside decorative elements, a fitting medium for this reflective narrative about community-taught knowledge and care. Contextualizing notes conclude. Ages 4–8.
Starred review from October 1, 2024
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* This poignant and heartfelt narrative delves into the history of one Hopi family while highlighting the resilience of the Hopi people across generations as they keep their culture and language alive despite attempts of forced assimilation. The story is an ode to Honyouti's kwa'a (grandfather), taking readers on a journey through the cornfields where the narrator recalls cherished moments spent together. Through evocative storytelling, the narrator reveals a painful chapter of his grandfather's childhood--being taken away to a state residential school, a place designed to erase his cultural identity. The book powerfully portrays the emotional and cultural toll of such experiences while also celebrating the strength and perseverance of the Hopi people. Each page also includes the Hopi translation of the text, adding to the reading experience. The illustrations, rendered in a unique style of acrylic paint on hand-carved panels, vividly bring each scene to life. Coming Home is an invaluable resource for classrooms, particularly those looking to include stories of resilience and remembrance. It offers young learners an accessible and powerful narrative about the importance of language preservation and the strength of the human spirit. Back matter details the author's and translator's journeys, as well as the process of creating the illustrations.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
January 1, 2025
Honyouti (Hopi, Iswungwa/Coyote clan) is an award-winning carver. His low-relief carved and painted scenes serve as the desert-colored illustrations for this gently told and moving book about his grandfather's Native American boarding school experience. Most of the illustrations have a slightly three-dimensional effect, both from the actual underlying carved wood and from subtle shading that provides a sense of realism to the highly stylized depictions of landscapes and interiors. Occasional gray and beige illustrations evoke historical photographs. This distinctive style lends itself to the account, which follows a sadly familiar trajectory, outlining the history of forced assimilation of school-aged Native American children stolen from their homes by the U.S. government. Honyouti also references the 1895 imprisonment in Alcatraz of nineteen Hopi men, dubbed "Hostiles," who were arrested in part because they opposed the boarding schools. In addition to the carved scenes, which emulate traditional Hopi art, what sets this book apart is its bilingual text and the appended notes on history and learning, translation, and art. Parra's translation of the text into Hopi Third Mesa dialect is a great example of Native language preservation and revitalization. The author-illustrator provides appended insights into his artistic process and inspiration. Lara K. Aase
(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2025
Honyouti (Hopi, Iswungwa/Coyote clan) is an award-winning carver. His low-relief carved and painted scenes serve as the desert-colored illustrations for this gently told and moving book about his grandfather's Native American boarding school experience. Most of the illustrations have a slightly three-dimensional effect, both from the actual underlying carved wood and from subtle shading that provides a sense of realism to the highly stylized depictions of landscapes and interiors. Occasional gray and beige illustrations evoke historical photographs. This distinctive style lends itself to the account, which follows a sadly familiar trajectory, outlining the history of forced assimilation of school-aged Native American children stolen from their homes by the U.S. government. Honyouti also references the 1895 imprisonment in Alcatraz of nineteen Hopi men, dubbed "Hostiles," who were arrested in part because they opposed the boarding schools. In addition to the carved scenes, which emulate traditional Hopi art, what sets this book apart is its bilingual text and the appended notes on history and learning, translation, and art. Parra's translation of the text into Hopi Third Mesa dialect is a great example of Native language preservation and revitalization. The author-illustrator provides appended insights into his artistic process and inspiration.
(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)