Available:*
Library | Material Type | Item Barcode | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Downtown Branch at Slover | Juvenile Hardback Book | 0118617870852 | jF BRU | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic.
Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation-she's there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There's a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.
Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe- She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn't go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian's family knows that he'll protect them too.
Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.
**Four starred reviews!**
Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction & Poetry Honor
NPR Books We Love
Kirkus Reviews Best Books
School Library Journal Best Books
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist
Nerdy Book Club Award-Best Poetry and Novels in Verse
Reviews (1)
Booklist Review
Malian, a Wabanaki girl, can't go home to her parents in Boston because she must shelter in place with her grandparents on the rez, thanks to being caught there by the COVID--19 pandemic during a weekend visit. She loves her grandparents but is often bored. That changes one morning when she wakes up and sees the rez dog outside, just as she had dreamed he would be. When it becomes obvious that he has adopted the family and become its self-appointed protector, Malian names him Malsum, the old name for a wolf. Noted Abenaki author Bruchac limns Malian's growing friendship with the dog in this accomplished novel in verse. Episodic in structure, it captures the family's daily lives and shares the grandparents' traditional stories, ensuring that a connection remains between them and the natural world. Readers also learn about injustices visited on Native peoples and hear Malian's white teacher's declaration that "we need to learn more of each other's stories." With this gentle book, Bruchac offers children another story to expand their worlds and hearts.