SALTYPIE- Tingle

Tingle,Tim. 2010. SALTYPIE A CHOCTAW JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. Texas: Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN: 978-1-933693-67-5

Summary:
SALTYPIE A CHOCTAW JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, tells the story of a young Tim Tingle as he remembers his childhood with memories of having “a bee sting on the bottom!” and the sweet smell of gardenias as his grandmother, Mawmaw, comforted him. Mawmaw says to him “That was some kind of saltypie…” Saltypie was the word his father had given said as “a way of dealing with trouble.” It is not until Tim is six years old that he realizes his “mawmaw” is blind and that was some kind of “saltypie.” The years and childhood memories tell the story of young boy who grows up in a loving family that comes together as Mawmaw has an eye transplant some fifty years later. “The whole Tingle clan was gathered to gether” waiting to hear the news about Mawmaw. They waited four days “catching up on the news, as laughing at old stories, as families do.” On the fourth day father walks back from talking to the doctor and says “No more saltypie… Mawmaw can see.” There is a wonderful section at the end of the book that tells more about the family history and Choctaw culture and brings awareness about American Indian stereotypes. The poetic language and beautiful illustrations tell a wonderful story of a family’s love.

Analysis:
Tingle tells the story of a modern Choctaw family with Native American culture woven into the words and illustrations. As the story is about the author’s life and family the sense of authenticity and intimacy comes through in the words. The history of the Choctaw national government that recognized “women as equals” is comes through in the words “My grandmother was a strong and special Choctaw woman.” As the family moves from Oklahoma to Texas they move to “a white wooden house” which is the type of home that the early Choctaw people lived in for years. The illustrations show Mawmaw and her grandson feeding the chickens and in the garage checking the eggs. Many Choctaw people had farms and gardens and this is seen throughout the pages. The strength of Mawmaw is seen in her ability to live her life in a way that her six- year old grandson did not know she was blind. The theme of family is throughout the story as we see “Aunt Bobbie at the house and “the whole Tingle clan [was] gathered together” in the hospital waiting room. As the family waits four days to hear about Mawmaw’s eye transplant, Tingle talks about how “the spirit of who we were as a Choctaw family was coming alive in the room” the bond the family has through their Choctaw heritage.
The clothes that were worn as seen in the illustrations were a marker of the modern day American Indian. The fashion is a way to break the stereotype of the Native American culture. The woman wore everyday dresses and aprons and the boys and men wore button up shirts and long pants, the same as others did at the time. The only difference in the young family that moved into the “wooden house on Strawberry Lane” was the color of their skin as we see in the illustrations. The only reason the boy threw the stone is because they were Indian. The story begins in 1914 and continues into the seventies were we find that “strong and special Choctaw woman” having an eye transplant. After a phone call her grandson drives “four hours” from his college to the hospital. We are reminded that Mawmaw was sent to an “Indian boarding school” where life was hard and then she went to “Tuskahoma Academy in Oklahoma” and was left at Christmas alone after her father’s death. The history of boarding schools had the goal of taking away your culture and heritage and it was usually through strict and harsh discipline that the goal was accomplished.
Reviews/Awards:
Booklist 05/01/10 Publishers Weekly 04/26/10
Kirkus Review 04/15/10 School Library Journal 05/01/10
Library Media Connection 11/01/10 Wilson's Children 10/01/10
Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/11
Full-Text Reviews
Booklist (May 1, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 17))
Grades 3-5. Looking back to his childhood, Choctaw storyteller Tingle introduces his capable, comforting Mawmaw (grandmother); recalls his shock as a six-year-old at realizing that she was blind (possibly, he learns, as a result of a racially motivated assault in her own youth); and recounts a hospital vigil years afterward when she received an eye transplant. His strong, measured prose finds able counterpart in Clarkson’s subtly modeled, full-bleed close-ups of eloquently expressive faces and closely gathered members of the author’s large extended family. The title comes from a word invented by Tingle’s father as a stand-in for any sort of pain or distress, and its use serves to enhance the vivid sense of intimacy that pervades this reminiscence. A lengthy afterword provides more details about Tingle’s family and Choctaw culture, and offers much to think about regarding American Indian stereotypes.

Horn Book (Fall 2010)
The title refers to Tingle's family's "way of dealing with trouble...you just kinda shrug it off, say saltypie. It helps you carry on." The very loosely structured story focuses vaguely on Tingle's Choctaw grandmother, blinded by an act of violence and later granted an "eye transplant." Stiff and sentimental paintings illustrate the lengthy text; the appended afterword (in tiny type) is more compelling.

Kirkus Review (April 15, 2010)
A grandmother's life story centers this welcome depiction of a contemporary Choctaw family. A young boy's bee sting is soothed when the grandmother calls his hurt "saltypie." A flashback reveals the origin of the expression: A stone malevolently thrown at a young mother injures her, and her son, thinking the blood is like pie filling, tastes it and pronounces it "saltypie." When the bee-stung boy discovers his grandmother's blindness, possibly resulting from the blow, an uncle explains, "You just kind of shrug it off, say saltypie. It helps you carry on." Years later, the extended family gathers in a Houston hospital, sharing its collective past while the grandmother undergoes eye surgery: "No more saltypie ...Mawmaw can see." The grown boy realizes that his grandmother, "Blind as she was...taught so many how to see." The term "eye transplant," the cause of the blindness and the sequencing of events could be clearer. Nevertheless, Tingle provides a corrective view of contemporary Native American life, as his author's note reveals was his intent. Clarkson's evocative illustrations bathe each scene in a soft light that accentuates the warmth of the family's love. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)

Connections:
SALTYPIE will be in my classroom library when school begins in August. I am excited to share Tingle’s words and Clarkson’s illustrations to show a modern American Indian Family. I think due to movies, games and books that have shown the Native American culture in very stereotypical way this book lets children see students are not the stereotype that may have in their head.
As recommended on Tim Tingle’s website www.timtingle.com I would begin by studying the “How Much Can We Tell Them?” This book can be used to discuss the stereotypes that children may have of Native American culture. The information that is provided will help teachers and parents understand better the history of the Choctaw. Then begin by showing the book and explaining that “Indians are modern people…Indians serve in the United /states military, as soldiers, sailors and marines. Indians are schoolteachers, lawyers….”
Bruchac’s CODE TALKERS would be a good follow up to the military connection.