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Title: The Blue Jay's Dance : A Birth Year by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 0-06-092701-1 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 10 April, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: great, honest book
Comment: Fine book, can be read again and again. Would be a great book to give an expecting mother or new mother.
Rating: 5
Summary: insightful, spiritual (non-denominational) and helpful
Comment: It seems that a week doesn't go by when I see a woman on the subway or in a coffee shop reading a book from the What to Expect When You're Expecting series. Those detailed tombs of writing seem to be sent to people planning or in the process of rearing children as if by storks. (I've even heard of some workplaces keeping the book What to Expect... in the human resources supply closet, to be given as a gift when a woman announces she's pregnant.) However, upon reading some chapters from those books and informal discussions with mothers, a theme that reoccurs is that some women will explicitly instruct others not to read those books. Why? Not because they don't contain a plethora of knowledge but precisely because they do. That is, these can wind up really scaring a parent-to-be because they contain all the zillions of possible physical and emotional things that can go wrong during pregnancy and the first years. I think everyone can agree that raising the anxiety level, especially of a woman during pregnancy, is quite a less than desirable outcome.
What if there was a book that spoke honestly about the experiences of pregnancy and childbirth and, more importantly, treated these experiences as natural events rather than listing all the possible things to be feared? Better yet, what if there was a book that did all those things and spoke of the spiritual aspects of pregnancy and children, in a gentle and non-denominational way? Well, a book with all those features and more is available in this book.
Erdrich is of Native American ancestry and a writer by profession. Her background is rich with symbolism and spiritualism and is wonderful at weaving her story into the passage of seasons. At times I felt I was really looking through her eyes in the room where she wrote, looking out at a large picture window in her remote rural home. She saw the lives of various wildlife, from all types of birds to deer to wild dogs, intertwine with the passage of time from the beginnings of her pregnancy through the first year of her daughter's life. This book seems to be very realistic primarily because it does not compartmentalize pregnancy or infancy; Erdrich does not shy away from concurrent events in her life including changes in relationship with her husband, observations of nature, memories from her own childhood and recipes she craves during pregnancy or for their nurturing powers.
In more popular baby manual-type books, the subjects of actual labor, sleep deprivation, nurturing "instincts," and patience are sometimes glossed-over or described in such a way to possibly make a parent feel guilty for not automatically possessing certain qualities. This is yet another way that Erdrich's book masterfully succeeds as she lovingly and with understanding tackles these and other important subjects. She describes with humor and passion of a "no-sleep week" by stating how she wanted to call 911 Emergency because her baby wouldn't sleep. She describes the situation: "It happens to be a long crying bout, nothing wrong physically, just growth, maybe teeth. Why knows? Sometimes babies just cry and cry... in my office, with her in the crib next to the desk, I break through a level of sleep-deprived frustration so intense I think I'll burst, into a dimension of surprising calm," (71).
Erdrich speaks of the "tender and grueling task of rearing a newborn," (6) with such a fullness and richness of spirit that I cannot help but be moved by her descriptions. I highly recommend this book not only to anyone personally considering parenting but also to educators and anyone interested in the mutual development of a parent and an infant. I think it could also serve as an excellent supplement for all students in any Infancy and Child Development course. The best summary for her book is by Erdrich herself. In the introduction she states: "These pages are a personal search and an extended wondering at life's complexity. This is a book of conflict, a book of babyhood, a book about luck, cats, a writing life, wild places in the world, and my husband's cooking. It is a book about he vitality between mothers and infants, that passionate bond into which we pour the direct expression of our being," (5).
Rating: 5
Summary: This is an amazing book!
Comment: I loved this book when I first read it before my daughter was born. Re-reading it now, as a new mother, I find it even more remarkable. Louise Erdrich has perfectly captured both the frustration and surpassing joy of life with a new baby. The book is also a beautiful nature narrative, with observations on the changing of the seasons interwoven with the story of a child's first year. Highly recommended!
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Title: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 0786814543 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Tales of Burning Love : A Novel by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 0060928360 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 23 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Antelope Wife : A Novel by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 0060930071 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 0060975547 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 18 November, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 006092585X Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 15 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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