THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE
by Louise Erdrich
Hyperion
ISBN: 0786803002
Ages 9-up
192 pages

Louise Erdrich, who has won many awards for her books for adults, has written her first novel for young people. And it's a wonderful read. Just like the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder help us understand what it was like for pioneers settling the American west, Erdrich's book shows us the pioneer/settler story from the other side, through the eyes of Omakayas, a young Native American girl. Omakayas is part of the Ojibwa tribe, living with her family on an island in Lake Superior in 1847. Her story of how white settlers came to the land is dramatic, entertaining, funny and sometimes heartbreaking. It's a book you'll love to explore --- and one you won't soon forget.

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