Spanish Pioneers of the South West - Hardcover

Anderson, Joan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525672648 ISBN 13: 9780525672647

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1989

Synopsis

Recreates in text and photographs the day-to-day life of a pioneer family living in a newly-formed Spanish settlement in the Southwest during the eighteenth century.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-- Another in Anderson and Ancona's series of posed photograph books depicting historical vignettes, this book shows a bit of hacienda life in an 18th-Century New Mexican fort, Las Golondrinas. The various members of the Baca family go about their business for the camera, tilling and sowing, preparing food and cloth, tending livestock. Problems with hostile Navajo are mentioned in recalling a family member who had been stolen by Indians at some past time. Young Miguel is proud when the patron deems him responsible enough to take a turn on the watchtower. What excitement there is in the settlement occurs when a wandering priest and a peddler arrive at once. The members of the household look over the goods packed up from lower Mexico, schedule a christening for the youngest family member, and prepare food for a festival to entertain the guests. This is not a narrative, but examples of the everyday aspects of their lives. However, there are a number of niggling problems with this book. The statement is made that the Pueblos were friendly Indians. In fact, Spanish relations with these native Americans were marked by savagely bloody conflict. Anderson deals with this summarily by merely saying they "had learned to cooperate." A band of soldiers is suddenly introduced without preamble and then never mentioned again. There is no explanation of the relationship between Miguel's family and the patron. Anderson states that the people of the hacienda are members of a family, but Miguel's parents are clearly in a subservient position. The chapel is at first said to be beneath the watchtower. Later the chapel is described as "down the hillside. . .around the newly planted field. . . through the pasture." As pictured there seems to be no watchtower above it. There are no mountains in New Mexico called Sandria. Papa praises Miguel for fending off grizzly bears without any original reference to bears, leaving readers to wonder what they are talking about. Flawed, but nevertheless interesting, this can be useful. --Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, McKinney, Tex.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0525672648
• ISBN 13: 9780525672647
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 62