Rez Dogs
Ratings7
Average rating3.9
Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic. Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation—she’s there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There’s a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration. Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe: She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn’t go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian’s family knows that he’ll protect them too. Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today. **Four starred reviews!** Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction & Poetry Honor NPR Books We Love Kirkus Reviews Best Books School Library Journal Best Books Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist Nerdy Book Club Award—Best Poetry and Novels in Verse
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This certainly is timely.
Wanted to love this, just didn't. The writing is very, very loose. Characters are introduced and never revisited. This a very quick read and does introduce a young reader to some valuable concepts like pre-Columbian America and Indian Schools.
hm I thought this would shine in audiobook but it didn't totally click for me–I understand the desire for the author to read their own book but since the protagonist is a girl, a female reader might have been better IMO?
That aside, it's wild that there are already books set during COVID and I think this is one that can both universally help a lot of kids process the trauma and weirdness of early lockdown while also specifically sharing Wabanaki stories. Plus: dogs! Lots to like.
A book that takes place during the pandemic! This is my first juv. Book that focuses on this time.
Our character is on lock-down in the rez with her grandparents as the pandemic and school continues. Sometimes there is internet struggles on the rez and school is hard to connect to sometimes. For an assignment our girl learns about her history and wonders if her white classmates will care about it?
She comes to her own and learns a lot about both pride-filled and painful history of her ancestors.
Really great book, a short one that can be finished quickly with a lot of great perspective!
