Birchbark House, The

The second of four children in a Ojibwa family on the shores of Lake Superior, eight-year-old Omakayas--Little Frog--despises her obnoxious little brother, idolizes her older sister, and adores the new baby. As the family progresses from their birchbark-clad shoreline summer wigwam to their winter village cabin, camping with cousins to make sugar and gather rice along the way, Erdrich primarily follows the protagonist’s struggles and adventures, both internal and external. The text, which is liberally peppered with Ojibwa words and phrases even going so far as to reintroduce the familiar moccasins as makazins, thoughtfully includes a glossary with pronunciation guide after the last chapter as well as a map of the family’s travels printed on the endpages. The daily work of carving a living from the land is central to the action, including anecdotal descriptions of the tasks necessary to keep Omakayas’ family and clan going such as hide tanning, icefishing, maize farming, and moccasin making. Sharing the spotlight are the ritualized animist practices of Ojibwa spirituality, which provides the primary venue for the hero’s growth as her near-tragic encounter with a bear grows over the course of the year into a connection with her spirit guide. Ever-present at the edges, and often taking the story in a new direction, is the presence of Anglo settlers in the form of missionaries, traders, and bearers of devastating disease.

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich; illus. by the author
Intermediate
Hyperion
244 pp.
Published 1999
ISBN 078682241-4
$16.25

Comments

Becoming a Comics Librarian and the Importance of Joining a Community of Practice

Originally published April 5, 2023 Library Developments Blog | Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission ***** As a freshly-minted librarian, I was hired to serve at THE high school bearing my district’s name alongside an amazingly zany, veteran librarian who knew the current collection inside and out as she’d been the one to revitalize it with bond money just prior to my arrival. To say that I was intimidated about what I could possibly have to contribute is more than an understatement. So when the moment of truth arrived and I was handed a “small” purchase order to get my feet wet, I. Was. Stymied! Her fingerprints were all throughout that collection, and what she didn’t read our assistant did . How would I ever fit into this team?! What could I possibly contribute?! To be honest… after teaching a core, tested subject for fifteen years, I was just beginning to read young adult literature regularly...

Decloaking Wakanda: Creating Space for BIPOC Nerds

On February 9, 2023, at the fourth Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC), I had the exhilarating experience of guiding a discussion that focused on the need to connect with nerd culture and create a welcoming environment for the BIPOC fandom. The soul of this session had been several years in the making and built on countless heart-to-heart moments. So, I couldn’t imagine a better venue for seeing it actualized than my first JCLC. Furthermore, for this session, I had the honor of being in conversation with fellow nerds and comics librarians Jean Darnell and Deimosa Webber-Bey . To my eternal amazement, our talk was met with a standing room only reception, and afterward we were repeatedly regaled with tales of being turned away at the door. In hopes of capturing a small portion of that day's magic, this post grew out of that discussion. *** For the past 30 years, BIPOC nerds have existed in the cringe-worthy shadow of Urkel. What if, instead, they’d had portrayals such as ...

Standing TALL: Choosing to Apply to the Texas Library Association's TALL Texan Leadership Institute

After having attended the Texas Library Association's TALL Texan Leadership Institute, another library worker reached out to me with questions about my experience. Below are the answers that I provided in response to her questions. *** Why did you apply to Tall Texans? Originally, I heard about TALL Texans as a new school librarian - within my first five years - and at the time it was described to me as an opportunity to gain meaningful leadership training in the field of librarianship that was specific to the Texas Library ecosystem. Thus, it was something that I'd aspired to for quite awhile. However, as time went on I made my way toward leadership without having attended the institute and began to second guess the value of the investment. However, when I mentioned to my supervisor that I was mildly interested in attending, she strongly encouraged me to apply - stating that not only would the library pay for my tuition but that she believed I would particularly benefi...

CET Writes

Search This Blog