Title: Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian Football Team
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Genre: Non- Fiction
# of pages: 233
Reading Level: 980L, 10-14 years
Summary: This book is the true story of world-renowned athlete Jim Thorpe. Famously known for revolutionizing American football and winning 2 gold medals in the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe had a troubled beginning when faced with the height of the Trail of Tears and the overwhelming racism that swept the nation. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, whose goal was to “Kill the Indian,” and “save the man” aimed to strip its students of their cultural identity. From cutting his hair to taking his clothes, Jim Thorpe not only has to wrestle with the pressure to assimilate but also the pressure to be great. Against all odds, Thorpe was consistently kind-hearted on and off the field. This narrative provides a detailed background into Thorpe’s life and the influential people that surrounded him. Grounded in hard truth and compassion, author Steve Sheinkin showcases the undeniable truth of kindness in the face of adversity.
Genre: This book falls into the non-fiction category as it tells the incredibly true story of Jim Thorpe as well as the harsh truth of Indian reform schools. Nothing in this novel was imagined for the reader’s enjoyment.
Reading the Novel: This would be a fantastic class read. It piques a special interest with the narrative focusing not only on Jim Thorpe but the game of football. Laced within these stories is a clear view of racism towards Native Americans at this time. This book could do wonders in helping students recognize all of the adversity Jim Thorpe and countless others had to overcome.
Teaching the Novel: This novel would pair well with teaching about the Trail of Tears. Although it does not have a strong focus on the journey itself, it is an account of someone who lived through this time and felt the overwhelming backlash that came from the “Indian problem.” I would have students compare the stories of other Native Americans who lived at this time with Jim Thorpe’s and ask them to identify similarities and differences in the two narratives. This could lead to a close examination and discussion of Indian reform schools, which more often than not, were extremely violent and bent on erasing an entire culture.
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