Staff Reviews

Omakayas lives on Madeline Island off the northern shore of Lake Superior. Erdrich details through seven year old Omakayas (little frog) the daily rituals and routines that define the seasons: sugaring, hunting and curing hides, gathering rice and settling in the snug cabin for the wintertime. Taking place during the westward expansion in the mid 1800s as Omakayas' people are being pushed away from their homes by the "chimookoman", white settlers. There is also the heartbreak of smallpox and the secret that Omakayas learns about herself. This is the first book in the Birchbark series