{"product_id":"raising-bean-w-s-penn-9780814349304","title":"Raising Bean: Essays on Laughing and Living","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eEssays from a Native American grandfather to help navigate life's difficult experiences.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOffered in the oral traditions of the Nez Perce, Native American writer W. S. Penn records the conversations he held with his granddaughter, lovingly referred to as \"Bean,\" as he guided her toward adulthood while confronting society's interest in possessions, fairness, and status. Drawing on his own family history and Native mythology, Penn charts a way through life where each endeavor is a journey--an opportunity to love, to learn, or to interact--rather than the means to a prize at the end. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDivided into five parts, Penn addresses topics such as the power of words, race and identity, school, and how to be. In the essay \"In the Nick of Names,\" Penn takes an amused look at the words we use for people and how their power, real or imagined, can alter our perception of an entire group. \"To Have and On Hold\" is an essay about wanting to assimilate into a group but at the risk of losing a good bit of yourself. \"A Harvest Moon\" is a humorous anecdote about a Native grandfather visiting his granddaughter's classroom and the absurdities of being a professional Indian. \"Not Nobody\" uses \"Be All that You Can Be Week\" at Bean's school to reveal the lessons and advantages of being a \"nobody.\" In \"From Paper to Person,\" Penn imagines the joy that may come to Bean when she spends time with her Paper People--three-foot-tall drawings, mounted on stiff cardboard--and as she grows into a young woman like her mom, able to say she is a person who is happy with what she has and not sorry for what she doesn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eComical and engaging, the essays in \u003ci\u003eRaising Bean\u003c\/i\u003e will appeal to readers of all backgrounds and interests, especially those with a curiosity in language, perception, humor, and the ways in which Native people guide their families and friends with stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e W. S. Penn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0814349307\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814349304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wayne State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/07\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 232\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.66lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.53d","brand":"W. S. Penn","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44057732940031,"sku":"9780814349304","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_51353abf-bee9-4fd6-98e7-9ce5a6e11621.jpg?v=1685048612","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/raising-bean-w-s-penn-9780814349304","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}