Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light

Tim Tingle - a Choctaw storyteller and children's author, whose Crossing Bok Chitto won an American Indian Youth Literature Award - tells the story of Mawmaw, his grandmother, in this moving autobiographical picture-book. With her sweet smile, and her "quiet funny laugh, like there was so much more to laugh at than you would ever know," gentle Mawmaw was the heart of young Tim's family: the one to whom he would run, when stung by a bee, the one who really knew how to listen. He grew up hearing the stories of his family's move from Choctaw country to Texas: of the rock thrown at Mawmaw, when she was a young woman, because she was an Indian; and of the invention of the word "Saltypie" by his own father, in response to the rock-throwing show more incident, and the injury it caused - a word that would come, in the Tingle family, to stand for the hardships of life. It wasn't until he was six, that young Tim even realized that Mawmaw was blind...

Like his grandmother, Tim Tingle has a gentle and deeply affecting style, making Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light one of those books that really creeps up on you, emotionally speaking. One minute you're reading a fairly simple picture-book about a modern Choctaw family's experiences, and then suddenly you're starting to tear up, as all the Tingles rush to the hospital, when Mawmaw must have an operation, or to really think about how we communicate with one another, and how we confront the wrongs done in the past, when reading Tingle's afterword. The accompanying illustrations by Karen Clarkson, also a member of the Choctaw nation, really capture the various people in the story - particularly Mawmaw, both young and old.

As the narrator says at one point: "At Mawmaw's, it always seemed that if you waited quietly, you could know things that ought to be known, hidden in the sounds." And that's what this book is like: it tells you things you ought to know - about racism, about family, about healing - in a quiet, compassionate way that is all the more effective, for its lack of sensationalism. Well done, Tim Tingle and Karen Clarkson! show less

"Agrandmother’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 show more 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)" www.kirkusreviews.com show less

Starting with his childhood memories of his grandmother comforting him after being stung by a bee, Tingle then goes on to tell of her move to Pasadena, Texas from Oklahoma in 1915, and how, once there, as a young mother, she was hit in the eye by a rock thrown at her because she was an American Indian. How their Choctaw family dealt with that unprovoked hate crime and life’s other trial and disappointments carries forward to 1970 when an eye transplant enabled her to regain her sight.

Clarkson’s soft lines and dramatic use of background color highlights the shifting mood of Tingle’s family story that spans decades and generations. In addition, an afterword by him, illustrated with family photos, talks about the perceptions and show more misperceptions that many Americans have about the original inhabitants of the land. This book is a powerful addition to his original oral story. show less

Beautifully illustrated, autobiographical children’s book has many important messages – respect for elders, understanding your heritage, aging with grace and dignity, overcoming life’s obstacles – but the story bounced from present to past to present and there were no smooth transitions. Ages 5-8.

I knew, when requesting this, that it's an important story. And that it would be powerful, and intense. I did not realize how beautiful it would be. And I did not realize how much I would learn from the author's note in the back. Thank you, Mr. Tingle and Ms Clarkson, for creating this book for all of us and for all of our children.

Saltypie is a nice story about family and some of the things that it means to be Native American, but the real lesson comes from the author’s note at the end, in which he explains all the wonderful things that Native Americans are, as opposed to their stereotypes, and relates his observations well to his story.

Saltypie is a well written story about a Choctaw family dating from 1915 to roughly 1970. The author tells a compelling story of his life and the illustrations being that story to life. The illustrations alter between bright and vibrant to calm depending on the emotion of the characters on the page. The end of the story has two pages filled with actual photos of the author's family and information about his experience as an American Indian growing up which is powerful. This would be a great way to introduce the story to students... starting from the back page.