Knots on a Counting Rope Book

I really liked the idea of storytelling, of the connection between grandfather and grandson, of passing wisdom and knowledge from one generation to another, of learning to live with and overcoming a disability, and of the strength of family. However, as an educator I found some aspects of this book problematic. I think that there are benefits in teaching multicultural literature but we need to be careful that we are not teaching and promoting stereotypes and inaccurate and inauthentic stories. Therefore I would like to direct you to this paper on the following site titled: Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls.



There is a short paragraph regarding this book within this paper as follows:

In Knots on a Counting Rope, Ted Rand's illustrations suggest primarily that the story is set in the Navajo nation, but his work reflects inadequate research into the culture. The book shows a mix of material culture from several different nations. For example, traditional Navajo men in the story are shown with hairstyles typical of the Atsina, Blackfeet, Mandan, and Piegan nations. Also, Pueblo people are shown at a horse race wearing traditional ceremonial clothing inappropriate for everyday wear (Reese & Caldwell-Wood, 1997, p. 177).