Pemmican Wars
Echo Desjardins, a 13-year-old Métis girl adjusting to a new home and school, is struggling with loneliness while separated from her mother. Then an ordinary day in Mr. Bee's history class turns extraordinary, and Echo's life will never be the same. During Mr. Bee's lecture, Echo finds herself transported to another time and place--a bison hunt on the Saskatchewan prairie--and back again to the present. In the following weeks, Echo slips back and forth in time. She visits a Métis camp, travels the old fur-trade routes, and experiences the perilous and bygone era of the Pemmican Wars.
Pemmican Wars is the first graphic novel in a new series, A Girl Called Echo, by Governor General Award-winning writer, and author of Highwater Press' The Seven Teaching Stories, Katherena Vermette.
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katherena vermette (she/her/hers) is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In 2013, her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses' Company) won the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. Since then, her work has garnered awards and critical accolades across genres. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi) and The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton) were both national best sellers and won multiple literary awards.
She is the author of numerous other bestselling titles, including the A Girl Called Echo series (HighWater Press) and the Seven Teachings Stories series (HighWater Press).
Scott B. Henderson (he/him/his) is author/artist of the sci-fi/fantasy comic The Chronicles of Era and has illustrated select titles in the Tales From Big Spirit series, as well as the A Girl Called Echo, The Reckoner Rises, and 7 Generations series. He is also the artist for AIYLA Honour Book Fire Starters, Eisner Award-nominee A Blanket of Butterflies, and select stories in This Place: 150 Years Retold. In 2016, he was the recipient of the C4 Central Canada Comic Con Storyteller Award. Find Scott on social media with @ouroboros09.
Vermette expertly juxtaposes the isolation of an aboriginal teen in the current day with the emphasis on working together in traditional Métis communities. Henderson's artwork and Yaciuk's colours help to emphasize the differences between the past and present, as gorgeous prairie panoramas in vibrant hues contrast with crowded, dingy hallways and buses. [...] This reviewer is eagerly awaiting the second volume of the series.--Roseanne Gauthier "National Reading Campaign"
Strong use of comics technique, a unique examination of a fascinating time of history, and the thoughtful narration by an aboriginal teen make this a must-read and a strong classroom or library choice.--Meghann Meeusen "VOYA Magazine"
Recognition is due Katherena Vermette's collaborators on Echo - illustrator Scott B. Henderson and color artist Donovan Yaciuk. Because Echo speaks so seldom, it's on the illustrations to convey key details about her life. And they do so with subtlety and grace!
--Jean Mendoza "American Indians in Children's Literature"
In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people's Canadian history. [...] A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
...feelings of alienation, of loneliness, of not belonging, either at home or at school, are experienced by both genders and those teens - male or female - who eat their lunch alone and wander the halls without friends will understand Echo's plight. Recommended.--Joanne Peters "CM Magazine"
