The Birchbark House

I hope to start a new chapter book this week, after finishing the beloved Danny, the Champion of the World. This new book will be our main focus during Read/Write periods. We will read, discuss and examine The Birchbark House (1999) by Louise Erdrich. This book transports the reader to an island in Lake Superior, in 1847, to live a full cycle of seasons through the eyes and voice of 7-year-old Omakayas, an Anishinabe or Ojibwa Native American girl. As the family makes their annual move from their winter cedar cabin to the summer birchbark house near the water’s edge we learn about Omakayas’ family and community through her interactions with her siblings, parents, grandparents, neighbors, dreams and wildlife. Following the cycle of seasons, Erdrich richly details the Ojibwa traditions, customs, spiritual and daily life.