Makoons
In this award-winning sequel to Chickadee, acclaimed author Louise Erdrich continues her celebrated Birchbark House series with the story of an Ojibwe family in nineteenth-century America.
Named for the Ojibwe word for little bear, Makoons and his twin, Chickadee, have traveled with their family to the Great Plains of Dakota Territory.
There they must learn to become buffalo hunters and once again help their people make a home in a new land. But Makoons has had a vision that foretells great challenges--challenges that his family may not be able to overcome.
Based on Louise Erdrich's own family history, this fifth book in the series features black-and-white interior illustrations, a note from the author about her research, and a map and glossary of Ojibwe terms.
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Become an affiliateLouise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, is the award-winning author of many novels as well as volumes of poetry, children's books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Erdrich lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.
★ "Erdrich continues her excellent storytelling. She has a knack for creating humorous and endearing characters. This beautiful novel is quick moving and deeply affecting. Readers will thoroughly enjoy following Makoons and learning about Ojibwe life." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
★ "Warm intergenerational moments abound. Erdrich provides fascinating information about Ojibwe daily life. Readers will be enriched by Erdrich's finely crafted corrective to the Eurocentric dominant narrative of America's past." -- Horn Book (starred review)
"Erdrich's simple text and delicate pencil illustrations provide a detailed, honest portrait of Plains life. A warm and welcome addition to the unfolding saga of a 19th-century Ojibwe family." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Erdrich's direct narrative voice brings readers right into Makoons's world. A new addition to the Birchbark House saga, launched in 1999, is always an anticipated event." -- ALA Booklist
PRAISE FOR CHICKADEE: "A beautifully evolving story of an indigenous American family." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Readers will absorb the history lesson almost by osmosis; their full attention will be riveted on the story. Every detail anticipates readers' interest." -- The Horn Book
"Erdrich's storytelling is masterful. Readers will be more than happy to welcome little Chickadee into their hearts." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
"In the fourth book in Erdrich's award-winning Birchbark House series, the focus moves to a new generation. As always, the focus is on the way-of-life details as much as the adventure. Most affecting are the descriptions of Makoons' loneliness without his brother." -- ALA Booklist
"The pleasures of reading the series are not unlike those of reading Laura Ingalls Wilder: Discovering an earlier time in our country through stories of the daily lives of children." -- Newsday.com
PRAISE FOR THE PORCUPINE YEAR: "Based on Erdrich's own family history, the mischievous celebration will move readers, and so will the anger and sadness. What is left unspoken is as powerful as the story told." -- Booklist (starred review)
PRAISE FOR THE GAME OF SILENCE: "Readers who loved Omakayas and her family in The Birchbark House (1999) have ample reason to rejoice in this beautifully conttructed sequel ... Hard not to hope for what comes next for this radiant nine-year old." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Erdrich's charming pencil drawings interspersed throughout and her glossary of Ojibwe terms round out a beautiful offering." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
"Erdrich's gifts are many, and she has given readers another tale full of rich details of 1850's Ojibwe life, complicated supporting characters, and all the joys and challenges of a girl becoming a woman." -- Horn Book (starred review)
PRAISE FOR THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE: "[A] lyrical narrative. Readers will want to follow this family for many seasons to come." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The Birchbark House establishes its own ground, in the vicinity of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books." -- New York Times Book Review
"Why has no one written this story before?" -- ALA Booklist (boxed review)
"Erdrich's captivating tale of four seasons portrays a deep appreciation of our environment, our history, and our Native American sisters and brothers." -- School Library Journal