For a indigenous perspective on Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the new world, I read the picture book Encounter by Jane Yolen (illustrated by David Shannon; Harcourt, 1992). This showed the arrival of “strangers” on an island, from the perspective of a dreaming young boy who forebodes danger for his people. It’s clear that the strangers are Columbus and his crew: the boy touches the sword and slices his hand, just as a native boy did in Pedro’s Journal (see my review).
The picture book has a sense of foreboding and does end with a dark message. The young boy has grown old and is pondering over his changed life after the arrival of the strangers. I thought it was a nice book to show the different perspectives of the natives from that of the ship’s crew.
My five-year-old son says he didn’t like Encounter because it was “too sad.” I think it’s a book that may be best for second-to-fourth graders to better approach the complexities of Columbus’ arrival to the “New World.” Kindergarten is a bit too young to understand this.
