(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

(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