Chapter Book #3--Morning Girl

Title:  Morning Girl

Author:  Michael Dorris

Illustrator:  Cover--Christine Kettner

Grade Level Equivalent:  6.3

Lexile Measure:  980L

Genre:  Children's Literature

Subgenre:  Historical Fiction

Theme:  Blood is thicker than water.

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Morning Girl, Star Boy, mother--She Wins the Race, father--Speaks to Birds

Awards:  Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Date of Publication:  1992

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN:  0590995006

Morning Girl is a story that follows two Native American children, Morning Girl and her brother Star Boy, in the days before Christopher Columbus’ arrival.  The story is told from the perspective of both Morning Girl and Star Boy with each chapter alternating narrators.  It begins with the way in which Morning Girl got her name—she loves waking up early every morning before dawn and experiencing all that nature has to offer when people are not awake and disturbing it.  Star Boy, (who was previously known as “Hungry” due to his ferocious appetite) received his name from his father because he is the exact opposite of Morning Girl.  He loves to lay awake at night and stare at the stars, thinking quietly to himself in the dead of night while everyone else sleeps.  One day, Morning Girl and Star Boy’s mother informs them that she is pregnant and they will soon have a baby sister.  But it was not to be, as only a few days later the mother goes way to her mother’s house to deal with the aftermath of having a miscarriage.  A few days later, a massive hurricane hits the island they live on, destroying houses and causing damage all around the area.  Star Boy gets swept up by the wind while his parents and sister look on, frantically trying anything to get to him.  As his father tries to reach him, Star Boy is finally able to grab hold of the biggest tree on the island, the tree where the spirits of those who have passed on live, and seek refuge from the storm.  He survives and is excited that he now has a harrowing tale to tell his relatives. 

Star Boy struggles to shed his childhood identity of “Hungry” while Morning Girl attempts to reconcile the fact that she cannot see herself to know what she looks like and wonders constantly about this.  She also struggles with being the oldest child and being a big sister to Star Boy, who is the typical, aggravating little brother. 

As the book ends, Morning Girl is taking one of her early morning swims when she notices a canoe coming towards her.  The people look different and are wearing shiny “rocks” on their heads.  When she speaks to them and tries to be friendly to them they do not understand her.  She runs to get her mother and father to help her properly welcome these newcomers, not knowing what is really happening.  The book ends with an excerpt from Christopher Columbus’ diary detailing the experience of meeting the natives for the first time.

I think that this would be a great book for children to read when learning about Native Americans and/or Christopher Columbus.  It is not very long so students will not get bored with it and it is actually a very captivating story.  It is told from the perspective of two separate children so students will be able to relate to the story and its narrators very well.