The Birchbark House [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Louise Erdrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.

--This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nineteenth-century American pioneer life was introduced to thousands of young readers by Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved Little House books. With The Birchbark House, award-winning author Louise Erdrich's first novel for young readers, this same slice of history is seen through the eyes of the spirited, 7-year-old Ojibwa girl Omakayas, or Little Frog, so named because her first step was a hop. The sole survivor of a smallpox epidemic on Spirit Island, Omakayas, then only a baby girl, was rescued by a fearless woman named Tallow and welcomed into an Ojibwa family on Lake Superior's Madeline Island, the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. We follow Omakayas and her adopted family through a cycle of four seasons in 1847, including the winter, when a historically documented outbreak of smallpox overtook the island.

Readers will be riveted by the daily life of this Native American family, in which tanning moose hides, picking berries, and scaring crows from the cornfield are as commonplace as encounters with bear cubs and fireside ghost stories. Erdrich--a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwa--spoke to Ojibwa elders about the spirit and significance of Madeline Island, read letters from travelers, and even spent time with her own children on the island, observing their reactions to woods, stones, crayfish, bear, and deer. The author's softly hewn pencil drawings infuse life and authenticity to her poetic, exquisitely wrought narrative. Omakayas is an intense, strong, likable character to whom young readers will fully relate--from her mixed emotions about her siblings, to her discovery of her unique talents, to her devotion to her pet crow Andeg, to her budding understanding of death, life, and her role in the natural world. We look forward to reading more about this brave, intuitive girl--and wholeheartedly welcome Erdrich's future series to the canon of children's classics. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Erdrich's crisply envisioned novel, which chronicles a year in the life of an Ojibwa Indian girl and her family during the mid-1800s, loses a bit of its verve in this slightly bumpy audio adaptation. Seven-year-old Omakayas is the heart of the story. Brave, spirited and generally kind, she offers her version of the events--from the mundane to the devastating--on Lake Superior's Madeline Island. As white people intrude upon Ojibwa territory, disease and death also enter Omakayas's world and change it forever. Erdrich has said this book was inspired by her own family tree, and a knowing attention to detail is evident throughout. Universal themes and situations are woven together with historical facts to create a story as enlightening as it is entertaining, introducing Ojibwa words and customs as well as conveying the horror that came with an outbreak of smallpox. Littrell gamely tries to capture the emotions at play here, but her reading rhythm is sometimes uneven and never really in sync with the ebb and flow of Omakayas's account. And though Littrell occasionally affects a tone that borders on precious, her voice is warm and clear, and young listeners will find it inviting. Ages 9-up.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Audio Cassette: 6 pages
• Publisher: Audio Bookshelf; Unabridged edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883332796
• ISBN-13: 978-1883332792
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,362,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Louise Erdrich is the author of twelve novels as well as volumes of poetry, children's books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Her debut novel, Love Medicine, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent novel, The Plague of Doves, a New York Times bestseller, received the highest praise from Philip Roth, who wrote, "Louise Erdrich's imaginative freedom has reached its zenith--The Plague of Doves is her dazzling masterpiece." Louise Erdrich lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have addition to any child's library., July 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Birchbark House (Hardcover)

Any child who has read and loved such classics as the <Little House> series, or <Indian Captive> will welcome the gift of this book. My 8-year old daughter declared it to be the best book she's ever read, and urged me to read it. I did, and I concur. It's a wonderful read, and one that I plan to buy as a gift for years to come. The heroine of this book is such a delight. The hundred-plus years that separate her from the modern reader melt away. Erdrich has done a powerful job of maintaining the historical accuracy of this book while making her characters relevant to modern readers. Really well done.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Book, December 3, 1999

By 

Elly (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Birchbark House (Hardcover)

The Birchbark House is a very good topic book for people learning about Native Americans. Though it is historical fiction, it shows a daily Native American life very well using the example of a little girl called Omakyas and her siblings. Louise Erdrich is very descriptive in her writing, and I recommend it to readers of any age.

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An alternative to the "Little House" books, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Birchbark House (Hardcover)

A beautiful book. Parallel in many ways to Wilder's series, this tells the other side in a moving way. We follow a year in the life of an 8-year-old Ojibway girl, including a tragic smallpox epidemic, a meeting with a bear family, and finding out her true heritage.