Historical Fiction

Wild Waters is Larry Loyie’s, Cree, exploration of the little-known side of the fur trade, the side of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Canadien (French Canadian) paddlers who powered the canoes. After seeing his four times great-grandfather’s name, Tomma, in Chief Trader Archibald McDonald’s 1828 journal, Larry, with partner and co-author Constance Brissenden, began researching and writing about a challenging canoe voyage from Montreal to Hudson Bay, and then on to the Pacific. Larry was determined to combine his creative vision of Tomma’s life with the entries in McDonald’s journal to honour the unacknowledged voices of history. Some of the people in Wild Waters existed; others are based on the authors’ view of the fur trade and its people. Wherever possible, real dialogue was used. Weights and measures are consistent with usage of the era.

Reviews
“Wild Waters, Inside a Voyageur's World is an authentic, atmospheric tale of the voyageur and Hudson’s Bay Company days. Not only do you admire the strength and courage of the paddlers in navigating the wild waters, but also how they negotiated the intense personalities and rivalries of the Europeans they laboured for. An excellent historical account of the voyageur’s life!” -- Darlene Adams, Curator, High Prairie & District Museum, High Prairie, AB.

Educator Information
The publisher recommends this novel for grades 6 to 12 and for Adult Education.

Additional Information
152 Pages | Paperback

Twelve-year-old Mary and her Cherokee family are forced out of their home in Georgia by U.S. soldiers in May 1838. From the beginning of the forced move, Mary and her family are separated from her father. Facing horrors such as internment, violence, disease, and harsh weather, Mary perseveres and helps keep her family and friends together until they can reach the new Cherokee nation in Indian Territory. Featuring nonfiction support material, a glossary, and reader response questions, this  story explores the tragedy of forced removals following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Reviews
"Highly Recommended. Andrea L. Rogers is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Her book, Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story came out on February 1, 2020. I've read it and I've followed conversations about it amongst citizens of the Cherokee Nation and am hoping for a review from a professor, soon. In the meantime, I want to make sure people order it for their children, or their classroom, or their library." — Dr. Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature

"When kids need reassurance in tough times (like now, for instance), we often point them to examples from the past, to moments of resilience and courage. Mary and the Trail of Tears is ideal for that. The book was lovingly crafted by Cherokee author, mama and educator Andrea L. Rogers. It’s a window to the forced relocation of Cherokee people from what’s currently called Georgia to Indian Territory. But more than that, the story offers an opportunity for kids to really get to know and care about Mary and her family, to relate to the Cherokees of their era as human beings. (For ages 8 to 12)"— NPR's Book Concierge Best Books of 2020, Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of Hearts Unbroken

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Additional Information
112 pages | 5.25" x 7.50" | 10 Colour Illustrations | Paperback 

Echo Desjardins is adjusting to her new home, finding friends, and learning about Métis history. She just can’t stop slipping back and forth in time. One ordinary afternoon in class, Echo finds herself transported to the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. All is not well in the territory as Canadian surveyors have arrived to change the face of territory, and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing access to their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for her friends and the future of her people in the Red River Valley.

Educator & Series Information
This is volume 3 in the graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo, by Katherena Vermette.

Books in this series include: 
Volume 1: Pemmican Wars
Volume 2: Red River Resistance
Volume 3: Northwest Resistance
Volume 4: Road Allowance Era

Recommended for grades 5 to 9 by publisher.

Katherena Vermette, a Governor General's Award-winning author deftly enters a format typically dominated by male creators with this graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo. Featuring compelling illustrations, a female main character, and the contemporary foster care system, the series follows Echo Desjardins as she discovers her Métis heritage firsthand while slipping back and forth through time.

This book is available in French: Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 3: La résistance du Nord-Ouest

Additional Information
48 pages | 6.50" x 10.00"

A boy discovers his Native American heritage in this Depression-era tale of identity and friendship by the author of Code Talker.

It's 1932, and twelve-year-old Cal Black and his Pop have been riding the rails for years after losing their farm in the Great Depression. Cal likes being a "knight of the road" with Pop, even if they're broke. But then Pop has to go to Washington, DC--some of his fellow veterans are marching for their government checks, and Pop wants to make sure he gets his due--and Cal can't go with him. So Pop tells Cal something he never knew before: Pop is actually a Creek Indian, which means Cal is too. And Pop has decided to send Cal to a government boarding school for Native Americans in Oklahoma called the Challagi School.

At school, the other Creek boys quickly take Cal under their wings. Even in the harsh, miserable conditions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school, he begins to learn about his people's history and heritage. He learns their language and customs. And most of all, he learns how to find strength in a group of friends who have nothing beyond each other.

Reviews
"Cal's cleareyed first-person narration drives the novel. Meticulously honest, generous, autonomous and true, he sees things for what they are rather than what he'd like them to be. The result is one of Bruchac's best books." —New York Times Book Review

"A tautly paced and compelling story of self-discovery, family, belonging, and friendship." —Horn Book, starred review

"Multiple compelling Depression-era histories converge in Bruchac's latest . . . The students' utter subversion of Challagi's mission to sever their ties with Indian culture soon becomes apparent, as does Cal's powerful, growing understanding of his identity." —Booklist

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 10+

Additional Information
320 pages | 5.81" x 8.56"

While digging for clams, Joannie finds a strange artifact made of whale bone. Suddenly, he finds himself transported a thousand years in the past, when Vikings visited Nunavut!

This time-travel story will introduce readers to the science fiction genre and teach them about ancient Northern history.

Educator Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 16 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is V.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Diversity; Indigenous Perspectives; Roles and responsibilities; History; Heritage.

Recommended for ages 8-10.

Additional Information 
40 pages | 6.00" x 8.00"

In this award-winning sequel to Chickadee, acclaimed author Louise Erdrich continues her celebrated Birchbark House series with the story of an Ojibwe family in nineteenth-century America.

Named for the Ojibwe word for little bear, Makoons and his twin, Chickadee, have traveled with their family to the Great Plains of Dakota Territory.

There they must learn to become buffalo hunters and once again help their people make a home in a new land. But Makoons has had a vision that foretells great challenges—challenges that his family may not be able to overcome.

Based on Louise Erdrich’s own family history, this fifth book in the series features black-and-white interior illustrations, a note from the author about her research, and a map and glossary of Ojibwe terms.

Reviews
“Erdrich continues her excellent storytelling. She has a knack for creating humorous and endearing characters. This beautiful novel is quick moving and deeply affecting. Readers will thoroughly enjoy following Makoons and learning about Ojibwe life.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Warm intergenerational moments abound. Erdrich provides fascinating information about Ojibwe daily life. Readers will be enriched by Erdrich’s finely crafted corrective to the Eurocentric dominant narrative of America’s past.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“Erdrich’s simple text and delicate pencil illustrations provide a detailed, honest portrait of Plains life. A warm and welcome addition to the unfolding saga of a 19th-century Ojibwe family.” — Kirkus Reviews

Educator & Series Information
This is the fifth book in the Birchbark House Series, a series of Indigenous juvenile fiction novels written by Ojibwe writer Louise Erdrich.

The books in this series in order include: 
The Birchbark House
The Game of Silence
The Porcupine Year
Chickadee
Makoons

Additional Information
192 pages | 5.12" x 7.62"

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.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+ by the publisher.

Pemmican Wars is the first graphic novel in the A Girl Called Echo series.

Books in this series include: 
Volume 1: Pemmican Wars
Volume 2: Red River Resistance
Volume 3: Northwest Resistance
Volume 4: Road Allowance Era

The Canadian Indigenous Books for School list recommends this for Grades 5-12 for these subject areas: Arts Education, English Language Arts, Social Studies.

This book is available in French: Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 1: La guerre du Pemmican

Additional Information
48 pages | 6.50" x 10.00"

Echo Desjardins is adjusting to her new home, finding friends, and learning about Métis history. She just can’t stop slipping back and forth in time. One ordinary afternoon in class, Echo finds herself transported to the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. All is not well in the territory as Canadian surveyors have arrived to change the face of territory, and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing access to their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for her friends and the future of her people in the Red River Valley.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for grades 5 to 9.

Red River Resistance is volume two in the graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo, by Katherena Vermette.

Books in this series include: 
Volume 1: Pemmican Wars
Volume 2: Red River Resistance
Volume 3: Northwest Resistance
Volume 4: Road Allowance Era

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list as being useful for grades 5-12 with regard to these subjects: English Language Arts, Art Education, Social Studies.

This book is available in French: Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 2: La guerre du Pemmican 

Additional Information
47 pages | 6.50" x 10.00"

Leira is about to start her initiation as a priestess when her world is turned upside down. A violent earthquake leaves her home--and her family--in pieces. And the earth goddess hasn't finished with the island yet.

With her family, Leira flees across the sea to Crete, expecting sanctuary. But a volcanic eruption throws the entire world into darkness. After the resulting tsunami, society descends into chaos; the status and privilege of being noble-born are reduced to nothing. With her injured mother and elderly nurse, Leira must find the strength and resourcefulness within herself to find safety.

A thrilling new Bronze Age survival story from the award-winning author of Dragonfly Song and Nim's Island.

Reviews
"[Orr's] mixture of prose and free verse to tell Leira's story is lyrical and magnetic—and devastating. Not for readers searching for a simple or happy journey, this is a beautiful song of a book that shows that life isn't always fair, but change is always constant."—Kirkus Reviews

"Leira's lyrical first-person narrative advances the story along beautifully with a fitting sense of urgency, and free-verse songs clue readers in to her emotional development. Immersive historical fiction."—Booklist Starred Review

"Some chapters written in verse make the more emotional plotlines sing. An eye-opening look at how difficult it is when one's status changes in life, and how attitude can shape outcome. VERDICT: Beautiful writing and a fast-moving plot will give young historical fiction fans much to love."—School Library Journal

"Leira's protracted fall from grace is effectively punctuated by seamless narrative shifts among prose, verse, and song, which fans of Orr's Dragonfly Song will recognize. What she endures—the uncertainty of her family's fate and becoming a servant herself—makes for a gripping exploration of privilege during her journey toward womanhood."—Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

"Swallow's Dance is a sweeping tale of courage, fortitude, hardship and perseverance against all odds. It is also a coming of age story, an intimate glimpse into the life of a young girl adjusting to puberty at a time when her family, friendships and her understanding of her place in the world are brutally torn apart. Wendy Orr has crafted a sympathetic, memorable heroine whose struggles and challenges transcend time from the Bronze Age to modern day....While suitable for middle-grade students and a wonderful introduction to mythology and discussions surrounding puberty, spirituality, class, mental health, death and disaster, Swallow's Dance is one of those rare books that is also just a great story, an epic tale for all ages. Highly Recommended."—CM Magazine

"Top notch historical fiction for those who like it ancient!... The scenes of devastation – earthquake in Santorini, tsunami in Crete – are riveting to experience through the lens of a survivor."—Youth Services Book Review

"Orr's attention to character development is extremely well done....Swallow's Dance could be used in conjunction with the grades-five-to-eight Language Arts or Social Studies curriculum and would be great to teach students how to incorporate symbolism and imagery through free verse and poetry. In addition, Swallow's Dance could also be used to teach students about family, culture, history and the importance of the role of women in society. A fantastic novel to use as a read-aloud or novel study!"—Canadian Children's Book News

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 10-14

Themes/Subjects: Legends, Myths, Fables - Greek & Roman / Historical - Ancient Civilizations / Action & Adventure - Survival Stories / Coming of Age.

Additional Information
288 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"

Anokì and his sister Pangì Mahingan have grown up, and now face a decision that will change their lives forever.

Twelve years after Mahingan was wounded battling for his life against the Haudenosaunee warrior known as Ö:nenhste Erhar (Corn Dog), we rejoin his family and learn what fate held for him.

Now, his children, Anokì and Pangì Mahingan, along with their twin cousins Makwa and Wàbek, are grown and have adult responsibilities. Still living with their Algonquin family, they have become a formidable fighting unit with the addition of three Mi´kmaq warriors, E´s, Jilte´g, and the fierce Elue´wiet Ga´qaquj.

However, there is danger in the land of the setting sun, and nothing is more dangerous than what the family is going to encounter from the fierce enemy of their new Anishinaabe allies: the Lakȟóta.

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 12-15.

Series Information
This novel is part of the Algonquin Quest Series, a series of young adult novels from Algonquin author Rick Revelle. 

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.00" x 8.00"

In the 1860s the United States Army forced thousands of Navajos off their land and imprisoned them in unsafe conditions at Fort Sumner. Through the eyes of teenager Danny Blackgoat, readers experience how the Diné people struggled to survive.

In the concluding novel of the Danny Blackgoat trilogy, the major characters appear in a final scene of reckoning. Danny Blackgoat must face the charge of stealing a horse from Fort Davis––or reveal that his old friend, Jim Davis, stole the horse to help Danny escape. The penalty for horse theft in the 1860s? Death by hanging. Only the word of a Navajo woman can save both Danny and Jim Davis, but will she arrive at Fort Sumner before the bugles sound and the hanging begins?

Danny Blackgoat: Dangerous Passage is filled with history-based action, as the Diné people leave their imprisonment and return to Navajo country.

Educator & Series Information
This is the third book in the Danny Blackgoat series, which is part of the PathFinders series. The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features: 

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.  The recommended ages for books in the PathFinders series are 12-16.

Additional Information
162 pages | 4.50" x 7.00"

A work of historical fiction about Sequoyah and the creation of the Cherokee alphabet, from the acclaimed author of Code Talker

Thirteen-year-old Uwohali has not seen his father, Sequoyah, for many years. So when Sequoyah returns to the village, Uwohali is eager to reconnect. But Sequoyah’s new obsession with making strange markings causes friends and neighbors in their tribe to wonder whether he is crazy, or worse—practicing witchcraft. What they don’t know, and what Uwohali discovers, is that Sequoyah is a genius and his strange markings are actually an alphabet representing the sounds of the Cherokee language.

The story of one of the most important figures in Native American history is brought to life for middle grade readers. This text includes a note about the historical Sequoyah, the Cherokee syllabary, a glossary of Cherokee words, and suggestions for further reading in the back matter.

Reviews
* “Bruchac has crafted a tale of depth and universal humanity in this fictionalized account of Sequoyah, the creator of the Cherokee syllabary, and his son, Jesse." —School Library Journal, starred review

“Although the particulars of the novel occur two hundred years ago, the universality of fitting into a blended family and looking for love and acceptance from a once-absent father feel strikingly contemporary." —Horn Book

"A vivid retelling of a pivotal time for the Cherokee nation.” —Kirkus Reviews

Additional Information
288 pages | 5.19" x 7.81"

Ten-year-old Isaac, now a ghost, continues with his people as they walk the Choctaw Trail of Tears headed to Indian Territory in what will one day become Oklahoma. There have been surprises aplenty on their trek, but now Isaac and his three Choctaw comrades learn they can time travel. The foursome heads back in time to Washington, D.C., to bear witness for Choctaw Chief Pushmataha who has come to the nation's capital at the invitation of Andrew Jackson.

Educator & Series Information
This is the second book in the How I Became a Ghost series by Tim Tingle.

Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Additional Information
200 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

Acclaimed author Ruby Slipperjack delivers a haunting novel about a 12-year-old girl's experience at a residential school in 1966.

Violet Pesheens is struggling to adjust to her new life at residential school. She misses her Grandma; she has run-ins with Cree girls; at her "white" school, everyone just stares; and everything she brought has been taken from her, including her name-she is now just a number. But worst of all, she has a fear. A fear of forgetting the things she treasures most: her Anishnabe language; the names of those she knew before; and her traditional customs. A fear of forgetting who she was.

Her notebook is the one place she can record all of her worries, and heartbreaks, and memories. And maybe, just maybe there will be hope at the end of the tunnel.

Drawing from her own experiences at residential school, Ruby Slipperjack creates a brave, yet heartbreaking heroine in Violet, and lets young readers glimpse into an all-too important chapter in our nation's history.

Educator Information
Find the French translation of this resource here: Cher journal: Les mots qu'il me reste

Additional Information
192 pages | 5.54" x 7.66"

Years after a devastating battle, Mahingan and his tribe struggle to recover a lost loved one.

Six years earlier in the fourteenth century, Mahingan and his tribe fought the Battle of the Falls against the Haudenosaunee. There were many losses, and Mahingan thought he had lost his wife, Wàbananang (Morning Star). But after the battle, he learned she was still alive, taken captive by the Haudenosaunee. Now on a desperate quest to rescue her, Mahingan and his small family are wintering north of the Ottawa River near present-day Lachute, Quebec. If they are to have any hope of recovering Wàbananang, though, they must first survive until spring.

At the same time, over 2,000 kilometres away in present-day Newfoundland, events taking place will affect four Native tribes: Mahingan’s, a group of Mi’kmaq, a Beothuk group, and a band of Haudenosaunee warriors led by Mahingan’s old nemesis, Ò:nenhste Erhar (Corn Dog) — a fierce Mohawk War Chief and Wàbananang’s captor.

Along the way, Mahingan’s brother, Mitigomij, will reveal his true self and powers. Then, an influential Mi’kmaq legend puts a new, powerful twist on events, and threatens to send things spiraling out of Mahingan’s control.

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 12-15.

Series Information
This novel is part of the Algonquin Quest Series, a series of young adult novels from Algonquin author Rick Revelle.

Additional Information
296 pages | 5.00" x 8.00"