Hausman books engage students in reading, history

ALBUQUERQUE

In this age of digital devices, it can be hard to get students to read a book with a real cover on it.

But, that’s not the case for Brad Budinger’s fourth-grade class at the Pine Springs Elementary school near Sanders, Ariz., where his students not only read a book once, but they read it twice. They also flip back and re-read passages about characters they liked the most.

Budinger said that it’s not hard to engage students in reading when you give them books with complex stories packed with lots of action and realistic characters that reflect their Diné culture and history.

That’s why he said he chose a series of books by author, Gerald Hausman, for his class to read this year.

Hausman, who has Hungarian Jewish, German, English and Algonquin heritage, said that he made friends with Diné students in college during the 1960s. He said that he kept those friendships over the years and during visits to their homes on the Navajo Nation, their grandparents shared stories that had been passed down to them.

“The stories go way back,” said Hausman.

According to a passage in one of his books, the elders gave Hausman their blessings to retell the stories as he developed into a children’s book author.

Among Hausman’s books that Budinger’s class has already read this year are “Ghost Walk,” “Turtle Dreams” and “Coyote Bead.”

“My kids just loved the books,” he said adding that the stories are deeply embedded in locations the students are familiar with, like Canyon de Chelly, the Lukachukai Mountains and Canyon del Muerta.

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