Little Ship Under Full Sail

by Janie Lynn Panagopoulos

When her grandchildren arrive at her home, Grandmother Kinzie tells Eleanor and Juliette the story of their great-grandmother's capture by the Seneca Indians in 1779

Genres: Historical Fiction

146 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Teague · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, but did not interest me.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought the writing flowed well and kept me engaged--I finished it within a couple of hours.

Keep in mind that I am a White reviewer, reviewing a book by a White author that details life in a Native American (Iroquois) village from two hundred years ago. In light of that, my perspective is tainted. However, I felt that the book gave a more nuanced look at the Seneca tribe and White settlers, not a good vs. bad situation as in most books that portray stories like this. I didn't expect this given that it focuses on a White settler girl kidnapped by a Seneca group. (In retrospect, the White settlers were never really shown in a bad light, but the Senecas were shown in both good and bad lights.) I would love to hear what Native readers thought of this book.

We're putting this on the shelves because of how it takes the reader to a time and place long ago and shares cultural information in an engaging way without depicting characters as "White saviors" or "Native savages" as often is the case.

[Margarita .H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found my copy of little ship under full sail yesterday as I was Going through some old books and it brought back a lot of memories. I recieved my copy when I was a little girl in grade school. The author herself came to my school shortly when the book came out and signed it for me. I lived in the country when I was little so it was alway easy for me to imagine the heroine living in the wilderness and her adventure growing up as a seneca Native American. A charming read I Highly recommened it for young girls.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has grown up in Michigan this book really interested me. I became really engaged in Nellie's adventures and found it interesting how adaptable she was to the Native American lifestyle, but how she easily remembered her family again.