(2) K-3 "As it turned out, Grandmother was a far more mysterious woman than any of us knew," begins this enigmatic and enjoyable picture book by Erdrich (The Birchbark House, rev. 5/99, and sequels), first published in 1996. With a page-turn, the grandmother is now shown in a motion-filled, sea-set spread, sailing away on the back of a porpoise. A year passes without Grandmother, and while the family members are going through her things, they find her birds' nest collection. In one lies three eggs; the birds hatch and are identified as passenger pigeons--an extinct species. This leads to many question--where did the creatures come from? where should they go?--but Grandmother's grandchildren know what to do. Realistic-looking illustrations ground the story in naturalism, while inventive--and unexplained--details allow the inquisitive young people, with their ever-changing facial expressions, to honor their grandmother's wishes.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(1) 4-6 Birchbark House series. In this fifth entry, Ojibwe boy Makoons, his twin Chickadee, and their warm multigenerational family make a new life on the Great Plains. Throughout, there are poignant moments, including a sense of foreboding as buffalo begin to disappear. Soft black-and-white drawings accompany this finely crafted corrective to the Eurocentric narrative of America's past. A note on the Ojibwe language and pronunciation guide appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(2) 4-6 Birchbark House series. In this fourth installment, eight-year-old Chickadee's abduction from the Ojibwe camp in the deep woods initiates a string of gripping adventures for the boy and a change to his family's way of life. Every detail anticipates readers' interest; they'll absorb the history lesson almost by osmosis. Chickadee is a most sympathetic character--small in stature but big in heart. A map is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(3) 4-6 Birchbark House series. This third book about Omakayas starts off excitingly, with the Ojibwe girl and her brother swept down rapids. It becomes a bit static, slowed by details, but regains strength when a renegade uncle robs the family, leaving them close to starvation as winter closes in. They're saved, but not without considerable sacrifice that will haunt the followers of Omakayas's journey. Glos.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(1) 4-6 Birchbark House series. Nine-year-old Omakayas and her family have returned to their summer home, but things are changing. In this sequel to The Birchbark House, a group of starving Ojibwe arrive with news of the encroaching chimookomanag--white people. Erdrich gives readers another tale full of rich details of 1850s Ojibwe life, complicated characters, and all the joys and challenges of a girl becoming a woman.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2005

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson & Lou Fancher. Swirling paintings reflect the warmth emanating from a Native American family's wood burning stove, which is both the literal center of comfort and security in their household and a symbol of the fading open "range" outside their door. Arresting images of meals cooked and cold nights endured nicely balance the story's mystical elements to deliver a poignant message about preserving the past.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(2) 4-6 Birchbark House series. Focusing on seven-year-old Omakayas, Erdrich paints a detailed portrait of Ojibwa life in the mid-nineteenth century. Along with descriptions of household tasks and customs, Erdrich crafts images of tender beauty while weaving Ojibwa words seamlessly into the text. Her gentle spot art throughout complements this first of several projected stories that will "attempt to retrace [her] own family's history."

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 1999