Grandfather’s Dream by Holly Keller

 


Grandfather’s Dream by Holly Keller

  • Traditional Literature

  • Grade: 1st & 2nd Grade

  • Awards: None


Summary:


Grandfather’s Dream by Holler Keller takes place in the Mekong delta in Vietnam and tells the story of the wetlands and the Sarus Crane. Nam lives with his grandfather, papa, and mama. Nam’s grandfather speaks about building new dikes for the cranes; however, Nam’s mama feels that the cranes are a waste of time. Nam expresses curiosity about the cranes and questions if they will return. His grandfather tells him that if the cranes do not return, the farmers will use the land to plant rice. At bedtime, Nam’s grandfather recounts that the cranes brought good fortune and should return home to Vietnam. Then he puts Nam to bed with a story about training otters to catch fish alive. The grandfather remains confident that the cranes will come, but mama thinks he is living in the past. Eventually, the dry season comes to an end and the villagers decide that if the cranes do not show before the rainy season, they will fill the wetlands with rice. Nam’s grandfather becomes discouraged and feels his dream about the cranes was silly. Shortly after, Nam and Papa see funny looking baby birds and sneak out the next morning to find about 200 cranes! Nam couldn’t wait to run and tell his grandfather, and the whole village went to see the magnificent cranes. The story ends when Nam questions his grandfather asking if the cranes will stay in Vietnam and he replies that the future is in Nam’s hands.


Evaluation:

This book is about a 1st or 2nd-grade level. I would use this book in my classroom because it’s important to have culturally diverse literature in my classroom. Students want to be able to relate to the characters. This story would be good for vocabulary development because of its use of a wide range of vocabulary words such as cranes instead of birds. Grandfather’s Dream shows the importance of tradition even in times with new innovations and renovations. This book would be great for a unit about cultural diversity or environmentalism because it discusses the use of wetlands for natural wildlife versus rice plantations.


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