Sunday, January 6, 2019

Judy Bolton #5 The Ghost Parade

In Judy Bolton #5, The Ghost Parade, the girls go to camp in the Thousand Islands as they await the rebuilding of their burned school.  During the journey, the young people stop at an auction, and Judy purchases some old wooden Indian heads.  The heads are said to be cursed, and Judy soon regrets her purchase.  At camp, the Indian heads disappear, and strange sounds are heard at night.

From page 20:
The museum contained... many fine specimens of American Indian handwork.  There were beads, baskets, pottery, elaborate costumes,  head feathers—things that could be of no possible value unless a person intended to start another museum.
Margaret Sutton was very sensitive to cultural issues, but she did miss the mark here.  The Native American artifacts would have been of immense cultural value to Native Americans.  Aside from that, the artifacts might also have been valued by collectors.

On page 89, the girls are skeptical of Christobel's story that she found the roast beef in a can.  Pauline remarks, "Who ever heard of canned roast beef?"  I had to laugh since canned roast beef can be purchased in most grocery stores these days.

This is a good book.

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