Christina Reviews *The Education of Little Tree*

          Little Tree is a Native American boy who goes to live with his grandparents after the death of his parents.  The grandparents take it upon themselves to raise him up right and to help him appreciate the Cherokee way of living.  While living with the grandparents, the boy learns heartfelt lessons such as the dangers of trading with a Christian and the virtues and vices of the whiskey-making business.  When he is sent to live in an Indian Boarding School, he also learns what it’s like out there in the world for Native American children.

          I know that it’s a bit of an oxymoron to say that I liked a book that was assigned reading in high school, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story.  I liked it so much that, ten years later, I went out and bought it. 

          I saw the movie, but I don’t remember it being nearly as funny as the book.  Maybe that’s because I could picture the characters so clearly in my mind and seeing them onscreen ruined it for me.  The characters are so vivid and colorful that no actor could possibly do any of them justice.

         If you like this book, I would also recommend the book Northern Borders by Howard Frank Mosher which is also about a young boy who goes to live with his wise-cracking grandparents.  It is another coming of age story that is both hilarious, and at times, poignant. 

           Five stars.