Encounter

Thanks to Amy South.
Yolen, J. (1992). Encounter. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers.

Encounter by Jane Yolen is a historical fiction picture book primarily targeted toward elementary children, but it is certainly applicable in high school settings.  Yolen’s book is one that is told from the point of view of a young Tiano Indian boy.  The young boy’s first encounter with the “strangers” is a story full of imagery and vivid illustrations, all of which work together to present teachers with many teaching points for various grade levels and content areas.

The story is written in first person point of view.  One night a young Tiano Indian boy is awakened from a bad dream by a “loud clap of thunder”.  The young boy describes his dream by saying, “But in my dream that night, three great-winged birds with voices like thunder rode wild waves in our bay.  They were not like any birds I had ever seen, for sharp, white teeth filled their mouths.”  As readers continue to read, the young boy tries countless times to warn his tribe and chief to not “welcome them”, but because the young Indian boy is just a boy, his cries are not taken seriously.  As the story’s progressive plot continues, the Indian tribe welcomes these “pale strangers” and they exchange gifts and are friendly with one another.  As time passes, the young boy’s tribe finds themselves at the mercy of the “pale strangers”, and the rest of the story can be concluded from history.

The point of view of this story is very carefully written to show readers how the young Indian boy viewed these strangers.  It is easy for readers to understand how differently the Tiano Indians viewed the white men while reading this story due to Yolen’s use of imagery (descriptive details).  For example, descriptions such as “great winged birds…rode wild in our bay...” and “sharp white teeth filled their mouths…” allow readers to see how the young narrator viewed the strangers because his descriptions speak of the white men as if they are uncommon. 

Furthermore, the imagery is supported by detailed illustrations, particularly folk art style illustrations.   In the first illustration, readers actually see the “great winged bird” and are then able to see that it’s a boat with great white wings.  Additionally, the illustrations in this book help set the mood for the reader because of the earth tone colors which give the reader the feel that this book is set in a historical setting ( the story feels “old” if you will).  Also, the book shifts between what the white men actually look like and how the Indians see them.  At one point, the narrator talks of how his tribe thinks the white men look like parrots because “they hid their bodies in colors.” This line is depicted in the illustrations by showing the white men flying from the sky with colorful wings.

Yolen’s Encounter can be implemented in many different ways on many different grade levels.  At the elementary level, the book can be used in a history lesson when students are first learning about Indians and the development of our country.  The book also serves as a great tool for higher level teachers to teach inferencing and varying points of view.  For me, I could see myself using this book as an excellent introduction to early American literature while reading other accounts from the same time period and have students compare points of view.

Big Question:  Why is it important to understand varying points of view? 

 Standards:

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

·         CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.