Book Bag
The Barren Grounds
(Misewa Saga #1)
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Description
Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson.
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom.
A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them.
Publication date
September 08, 2020
Classification
Fiction
Page Count
-
ISBN-13
9780735266100
Lexile Measure
680
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Puffin Books
Series
Misewa Saga
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV013050 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Orphans & Foster Homes
JUV012080 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Native American
JUV013050 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Orphans & Foster Homes
JUV012080 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Native American
Library of Congress categories
Indians of North America
Fantasy fiction
Quests (Expeditions)
Imaginary places
Foster children
Fantasy fiction
Quests (Expeditions)
Imaginary places
Foster children
Kirkus
Starred Review
This middle-grade fantasy deftly and compellingly centers Indigenous culture.
Publishers Weekly
Robertson, a member of the Norway House Cree Nation, winks at C.S. Lewis's Narnia tales in this Indigenous fantasy series starter, centering two Cree foster children in Winnipeg. Avid fantasy reader Morgan, 13, has been living with well-intentioned but culturally insensitive white couple Katie and James for two months. After being abandoned as a toddler and cycling through seven white foster families, Morgan is frustrated, and she expects no better from this home. Meanwhile, Eli, 12, arrives at Katie and James's house, escaping his pain by drawing strange creatures in a sketchpad. When Morgan and Eli staple one of Eli's drawings to the wall of their off-limits attic, they travel to the ever-winter land of Askí, where they meet bipedal animals that wear clothes and speak an English-Cree mix. Indigenous stories are touched on as the children and their new friends, Ochek ("fisher" in Cree) and Arikwachas, a squirrel, set out to make spring return to Askí. While the humans' and animals' voices are somewhat homogenous, the treatment of Cree culture resonates, and the engaging characters and folklore ensure readers will look forward to the next installment. Ages 10-up. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (Sept.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission. David A Robertson
DAVID A. ROBERTSON is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award and was nominated for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Strangers, the first book in his Reckoner trilogy, a young adult supernatural mystery, won the 2018 Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction (Manitoba Book Awards). A sought-after speaker and educator, Dave is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg. For more information, visit his website: www.darobertson.ca and follow him on Twitter: @DaveAlexRoberts
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