*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***
Gertrude Chandler Warner seems to have a special interest in Native American Indians... This book is somewhat reminiscent of The Yellow House Mystery in that, once again, the children meet an isolated Indian woman who makes baskets.
On the one hand, this story had a lot of interesting pieces - I liked the mountain setting and the Indian boy - but on the other hand, the mystery itself was pretty contrived, requiring quite a bit of set-up. I also wasn't really fond of the way Grandfather, within minutes of meeting the Indian woman, decides to help her by buying an entire forest. The message seems to be, "Money solves all problems, it's a good thing I have so much of it!" I was also bothered by the way the rangers brought in and interrogated the Indian boy simply because he was not from the area. I know they were just trying to help, but it seemed more like they were taking him into custody, even though he hadn't done anything wrong.
One other interesting thing of note: In this book, for the first time that I can tell, the kids don't drink milk - they drink Coke!
yeah, it's so convenient to solve so many 'problems' with the Alden money!! he just buys up some land or a store and voila! everyone's happy!
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