Ruth A. reviewed on 9/12/2010 + 43 more book reviews

After so many children's books that casually provide negative stereotypes of Indians, The Birchbark House is a positive book about Ashinabe or Ojibwa people in Minnesota in 1847. It has the dual merits of being impeccably historically researched and having a strong narrative. I read it out loud to my second grader--the language was beautiful and he demanded more at the end of each chapter. There was a lot to talk about afterward: this is a book you could read just for the pleasure of it, but it also provides a good opportunity to talk about life's biggest issues: religion, culture, adoption, family, life and death.

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