Picture book based on the true story of two Indian boys sent to boarding school and how they made their way back home on the train

This book was very informative for me because I had no idea that Native American children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools. I found it disturbing that they were deprived of their culture and not even allowed to speak their native language in the classroom. The illustrations were vivid full page paintings.

In this book's introduction, illustrator Judith Lowry tells the reader that Home to Medicine Mountain is based on a true story about how her father and uncle found their way home from a government-run Native American boarding school in the 1930's. During this era, Native Californian children were taken away from their families in order for them to learn how to "assimilate" into mainstream, Anglo culture. As author Chiori Santiago and illustrator Judith Lowry relate, this can be a heartbreaking experience. At the beginning of the story, Benny Len and his older brother Stanley are taking a train ride from Medicine Mountain (near Susanville) to a Riverside boarding school. When they arrive, they are given uniforms and stiff new shoes and expected to follow the norms of the institution. These rules include speaking only in English (no native languages were allowed), sleeping in dormitories, and marching drills in the yard. Benny Len escapes this harsh existence through his dreams, which let him travel home whenever he wanted. There he lived again with his grandmother and watched the men of his community dance in the roundhouse. Benny Len is devastated when he discovers that he would not be allowed to go home in the summer. (The government paid for the trip to the school, but not for the trip home!) His brother Stanley comes up with the plan to hop a train back to Medicine Mountain and the latter part of the book relates their journey home. The painted illustrations by Lowry are clear and colorful and add a lot to the story. Just one of the pictures which illustrates the clash of cultures is the blackboard on page nine which lists milestones in American history which affected native people: "1492 Discovery of America, Manifest Destiny, Louisiana Purchase, and (the)1849 Gold Rush of California". By reading this book, fourth graders will learn a lot about an almost forgotten period of California history. ( )