The Winter People [Hardcover]

Joseph Bruchac (Author), James Bernardin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2002 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Saxso is fourteen when the British soldiers attack his Canadian village. It is the year 1759, and war is raging between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people-Saxso's people-by their side. In fact, most of the men of Saxso's village are away looking for the British elsewhere on the day of the attack. There aren't enough people home to put up a proper defense, and the village is destroyed. Many people are killed and some are taken hostage, including Saxso's own mother and two younger sisters. It's up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home.

Riveting and poignant, this novel sheds new light on history, offering the fascinating untold story of the Abenaki perspective on the French and Indian War. Joseph Bruchac is acclaimed for his novels about Native American history and culture, and he is at his very best with this tale of family and community, courage and sacrifice.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-A heartbreaking but exciting story. In a Quebec village during the French and Indian War, 14-year-old Saxso, an Abenaki, is caught in a struggle of survival and rescue when his mother and sisters are kidnapped during a massacre raid by the English Rangers. Bruchac has based this historical novel on an event that took place in the fall of 1759 when Major Robert Rogers of the English forces led a group of 200 men in an attack on St. Francis. For the Abenaki, the struggle to survive, rebuild, and continue throughout the generations was nearly lost. Through Saxso's own words, Bruchac leads readers through the boy's pursuit to save his family. He is also depicted as religious, with beliefs that are a mixture of Abenaki and Christian teachings. An excellent complement to Native American or French and Indian War units with high discussion potential.
Rita Soltan, formerly at Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this. Like Michael Dorris' Morning Girl (1993) and Louise Erdrich's The Birchbark House (1999), Bruchac takes an event we thought we knew about--the French and Indian Wars--and presents it from an entirely different standpoint. In October 1759, Major Robert Rogers--of the famed Rogers Rangers--led his British soldiers and a Stockbridge Indian party on a raid against the Abenaki village of St. Francis, whose inhabitants were Abenaki Catholics and their French allies. This gripping story is told by Saxso, a 14-year-old who sees his home destroyed and his mother and sisters carried off into captivity. Saxso tracks them and rescues them. There is passion here both external and internal. As Saxso tries to find his family, he also seamlessly maintains both his Catholic faith and belief in Klist, son of the Great Spirit. His knowledge of his spirit kin in the forests and waters and what they can teach also strengthens him. The narrative itself is thrilling, its spiritual aspects enlightening. An author's note shows how much of Saxso's story is grounded in Abenaki narrative and in the history of Bruchac's own family. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Dial (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803726945
• ISBN-13: 978-0803726949
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,673,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children's book author, poet, novelist and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. Coauthor with Michael Caduto of the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series, Bruchac's poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored more than 50 books for adults and children. For more information about Joseph, please visit his website www.josephbruchac.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Winter People, June 18, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Winter People (Hardcover)

This is a truly fasincating story told in a different perspective, through the eyes of a Native American. The novel shows us a totally opposite side of the stories and documents recorded and still used today in life. After I finally finished reading "The Winter People", I had an unique and new perspective towards the Abenakis. You will too, and I still do, hold a strong respect towards these people and their way of life.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written story, with frightening accurate history lesson, July 10, 2005

By 

P. Hardy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winter People (Hardcover)

I thought was a beautifully written story by Joseph Bruchac, about the Indian tribe, the Abenaki's. The simple and yet complex way he wrote it from the point of view of 14 year old Native American named Saxso, made it all the more interesting. Saxso is probably the most interesting character in this book aside from his cousin and grandfather. The description of what the British (the white people, or the winter people, the people with winter/cold in their hearts) were doing to the Native Americans after they captured them from the village upon their raid, actually brought tears to my eyes (I've never even heard of the British eating the Native Americans until I read this book. More genocidal things the world continues to hide from the people about what the Europeans, and British, among others who wronged these people, hide.). I continued to read the book until the very end which was satisfying in aspect of the word. I recommend this book to anyone who has a interest in Native Americans and their lives during the many wars that took place on the land they lived on.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Reccomend this book, May 6, 2003

By 

Justin (Hudson, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winter People (Hardcover)

I found this to be both an easy to read book, and historically accurate as well. Bruchac is an amazing writer, and teaches many lessons while the the story is told. This book should definately be read by middle school-high school students because it will help teach about both the native peoples and the Seven Years war, and help to wash away some of the stereotypes that have plagued native peoples for many years.
Justin