Louise Erdrich’s new book, Chickadee (HarperCollins, 8–12 years), takes place in 1866, a generation after the first three books in her Birchbark House series. Omakayas is now the mother of twin eight-year-old boys, Chickadee and Makoons, but she and her extended Ojibwe family are still living in the Northern Forest and following their traditional, nomadic way of life. All this changes when Chickadee is kidnapped and the family must follow him out of the woods and onto the Great Plains. Chickadee portrays a watershed moment in Native history—at the same time, it’s also a riveting, child-centered adventure story.

1. Why did you decide to move forward a generation? And was there a conscious parallel with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little Town on the Prairie?

Louise Erdrich: When I began writing the books I knew I wanted to keep my heroes middle-grade-aged, and also to continue with Omakayas’s life. The way to do this was to skip forward every three books or so. That is why we see Omakayas as a mother for the first time, and become immediately involved with her twin sons. The migration across Minnesota into the Dakotas, and the warmth of family life, is something that these books have in common with the Little House series. I am happy that they are being read together, as the Native experience of early western settlement is so often missing in middle-grade history classes.

2. After he is kidnapped, Chickadee is out in the world having adventures while his twin is left behind. Will Makoons get a story of his own?

LE: The next book, a twin to Chickadee, is titled Makoons. That book is going to be very personal for me because for the first time I will be writing from the living memory of my relatives. I was fortunate enough as a child to remember my great-grandfather, The Kingfisher, who lived into his nineties and had been part of some of the last buffalo hunts along the Milk River in Montana. So what I will be describing has incredible resonance for me.

3. One of my favorite things about Chickadee is your depiction of the two kidnappers. They start out so realistically menacing and then morph into almost folkloric characters—none-too-bright, buffoonish giants. How did their portrayal evolve?

LE: How did the two brothers evolve? I couldn’t help it. Every book needs some comic relief!

4. Is the mosquito attack on the oxcart train based on an actual occurrence? How about the infestation of baby snakes where Uncle Quill is sleeping?

LE: Both incidents are based entirely on fact. The ravenous clouds of mosquitoes are described in many accounts of the Red River Oxcart Trails, and (although I am thankful never to have experienced one) by all reports the attacks were exactly as terrifying as I’ve written them. Mosquitoes and their larvae are sort of the plankton of the bird, bat, and insect world. They feed on mammals, but in turn they support blue swallows, black swifts, green dragonflies, and countless other creatures. As for the snakes, they are a very traditional and chummy creature. They have nests in places where they return every year. I have friends whose house is built on one of these snake nests, and they see snakes every single day.

5. Have you ever tasted bouyah? It sounds awful!

LE: Bouyah is described in many trappers’ journals and historical accounts as being pretty bad. I have eaten it (upscale ingredients—no hair, no mice) as a sort of meaty potato stew, and it’s very tasty! Our clumsy kidnapping brothers were unquestionably bad cooks.

From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

The post From the Editor – September 2012 appeared first on The Horn Book.

New books, big authors
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead, Lamb/Random, 11–14 years.
What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt, Clarion, 11–14 years.
The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech, Cotler/HarperCollins, 9–12 years.
One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath, Schwartz & Wade/Random, 9–12 years.
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath, Farrar, 9–12 years.

Monkeying around with preschoolers
Two Little Monkeys written by Mem Fox, illus. by Jill Barton, Beach Lane/Simon, 2–5 years.
Wild About You! written by Judy Sierra, illus. by Marc Brown, Knopf, 3–6 years.
Oh, No! written by Candace Fleming, illus. by Eric Rohmann, Schwartz & Wade/Random, 3–6 years.
Boot & Shoe by Marla Frazee, Beach Lane/Simon, 3–6 years.

Birds of many feathers
Puffling Patrol by Ted and Betsy Lewin, Lee & Low, 4–7 years.
Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why by Lita Judge, Flash Point/Roaring Brook, 4–7 years.
Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird written by Stephanie Spinner, illus. by Meilo So, Knopf, 4–7 years.
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose, Farrar, 8–12 years.

Dark folklore
Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses written by Ron Koertge, illus. by Andrea Dezsö, Candlewick, 14–17 years.
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan, Knopf, 14–17 years.
The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti, Dial, 14–17 years.
Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough, Candlewick, 14–17 years.

These titles were featured in the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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Ron Koertge retells, in free verse and from various points of view, twenty-three familiar tales (mostly Grimm, Andersen, and Perrault) in Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses. With a contemporary sensibility and voice, Koertge pitches directly to teenagers—Red Riding Hood to her mother: “I’m into danger, / okay?” Illustrator Andrea Dezsö’s black-and-white cut-paper silhouettes are appropriately stark and gruesome. (Candlewick, 14–17 years)

In Margo Lanagan’s The Brides of Rollrock Island, a seal-kin woman, lonely, ostracized, and vengeful, enlists beautiful selkies to entice the men of Rollrock Island away from their human wives. Six narrators spanning two generations describe the consequences of this magical act as experienced by members of the now-isolated community. Sensory descriptions of the natural world animate this powerful story, a blend of folktale and pungent, sharply observed regionality. (Knopf, 14–17 years)

The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti finds Frenenqer Paje and her controlling ex-pat father living in a desert town in the Middle East. Frenenqer rescues a cat that turns into a winged, shape-changing “Free person”—sometimes a cat, but often a boy. Each night, the two explore far-flung places and other worlds—and begin to fall in love. Rossetti’s evocative, sensual descriptions and her subtle portrait of Frenenqer give satisfying depth to this romantic fantasy. (Dial, 14–17 years)

At the start of Lindsey Barraclough’s post–World War II horror fantasy Long Lankin (based on the ballad of the same name), Cora and her little sister have been sent to stay with their aunt in crumbling Guerdon Hall. While delving into family history, Cora sees ghosts of abducted children and of a priest who warns of Long Lankin’s awakening. Barraclough’s setting is richly evoked in this shivery, atmospheric tale. (Candlewick 14–17 years)

From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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In Newbery and Boston Globe Horn Book Award–winner Rebecca Stead’s new novel Liar & Spy, Brooklyn seventh-grader Georges’ family has just moved, he’s been ditched by his best friend, and he’s tormented by a bully. So when his new neighbor offers to train him as a spy, Georges figures, why not? Spare and elegant prose, wry humor, deft plotting, and the presentation of complex ideas in an accessible and intriguing way make this smart novel much more than just a mystery-with-a-twist. (Lamb/Random, 11–14 years)

In a notable departure from his realistic stories about troubled-boys-with-hearts-of-gold, Gary D. Schmidt’s latest, What Came from the Stars, brings together heroic science fantasy and realism. Tommy grieves for his dead mother in Massachusetts, and on a distant planet Young Waeglim invests all the Art of his culture into a chain necklace. When the chain falls through worlds and lands in Tommy’s lunchbox, the young mens’ stories intertwine. Gradually, the two alternating prose styles Schmidt employs—Tolkienesque fantasy and down-to-earth contemporary language—merge, underscoring that inner change is itself the stuff of classic heroism. (Clarion, 11–14 years)

The Great Unexpected, Sharon Creech’s latest book, begins when a strange boy falls out of a tree in best friends Naomi and Lizzie’s small town. Narrator Naomi has a crush on the mysterious Finn, but these feelings begin to cloud her judgment and affect her friendship with Lizzie. The girls’ story blends with that of estranged sisters who squabbled over boys. Creech keeps control of the material through her enormously sympathetic protagonist. Through Naomi, the author skillfully presents lessons well worth learning. (Cotler/HarperCollins, 9–12 years)

Primrose Squarp returns in Polly Horvath’s One Year in Coal Harbor, a follow-up to her Newbery Honor Book Everything on a Waffle. Primrose’s previously-lost-at-sea parents are back home, but the residents of Coal Harbor continue to need her varied and unusual talents. Primrose is an unforgettable character—an energetic blend of optimism, smarts, kindness, and a hint of reflective melancholy. This novel is funny from top to bottom, from surprising plot twists to laugh-out-loud comments on the human condition to the edges where humor merges with wisdom and sadness. (Schwartz & Wade/Random, 9–12 years)

From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

The post New books, big authors appeared first on The Horn Book.

Each August, fledgling puffins make their first journey to their winter home. However, bright lights cause some to lose their way. In Puffling Patrol, authors Ted and Betsy Lewin join children Dáni and Erna, members of the Icelandic island of Heimaey’s puffin search-and-rescue group, on night patrol to help guide the birds to safety. The Lewins effectively combine their artistic and storytelling skills, capturing the beauty of the landscape — and the birds’ endearingly awkward appeal. (Lee & Low, 4–7 years)

In Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why, Lita Judge explores the ways in which birds communicate both within and across species. Striking illustrations portray communication as a whole-body endeavor, capturing the creatures’ expressions and movements at key points. Without overly anthropomorphizing her subjects, Judge conveys the essence of communication and the beauty of the birds with clarity and humor. (Flash Point/Roaring Brook, 4–7 years)

Stephanie Spinner’s Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird provides an engaging account of scientist Irene Pepperberg’s groundbreaking animal communication studies. Beginning in the nineteen seventies, and with a lot of patience and hard work, Pepperberg successfully taught her first subject, an African grey parrot she named Alex, language skills beyond mimicry. Meilo So’s striking mixed-media illustrations, with their confident lines and splashes of tropical color against white backgrounds, further enliven Spinner’s dynamic descriptions. (Knopf, 4–7 years)

Over the course of its lifetime so far, the rufa red knot B95 — a bird known as “Moonbird” — has flown some 325,000 miles: the distance to the moon and almost halfway back. Phillip Hoose’s fascinating account of this remarkable creature, Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95, provides details about one extraordinary bird’s life — and much more. Graceful prose describes red knots’ characteristics in addition to exploring the research methods of scientists who track the birds. A sobering look at prospects for the rufa’s survival brings readers down to earth while glorious photographs of the birds in flight will make their hopes soar. (Farrar, 8–12 years)

From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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In Mem Fox’s Two Little Monkeys, Cheeky and Chee are happily playing on the savanna until—“something’s prowling— / what could it be?” Off they dash up a “big old tree.” When they feel brave enough, they peep down to check: “Who IS that prowling? / What do you see?” It’s a leopard (“Ooooooh… Scary!”), but the illustration isn’t too threatening. Fox’s peppy rhyming text propels the story forward; Jill Barton’s watercolor compositions keep pace with the narrative’s infectious energy. (Beach Lane/Simon, 2–5 years)

Wild About You! by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown, concludes: “To bring up a baby… / It takes a whole zoo!” When all of the other animals in the zoo start having babies, a pair of pandas and a tree kangaroo bemoan their childless state. Soon the three grown-up animals find themselves with families that aren’t quite what they expected. Sierra’s rhymes are full of surprises; Brown’s inviting illustrations enhance the text’s warmth. (Knopf, 3–6 years)

Oh, No! by Candace Fleming, a cumulative tale about animals falling into a hole, is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. “Frog fell into a deep, deep hole. / Ribbit-oops! Ribbit-oops!…Frog fell into such a deep hole, / he couldn’t get out to save his soul.” Frog is followed by Mouse, Loris, and more. Tiger—lurking nearby—threatens to “help [them] out”; luckily Elephant shows up just in time. Eric Rohmann’s energetic relief prints show the animals’ tumbles into that deep, dark hole from a variety of perspectives. (Schwartz & Wade/Random, 3–6 years)

Marla Frazee’s Boot & Shoe is a nimble tale of misplaced assumptions. Dogs Boot and Shoe (named for the markings on their paws) share a lot of things, but Boot spends his days on the back porch and Shoe passes time in the front. After a squirrel gets both dogs riled up enough to give chase, they each end up on the wrong porch—then decide to sit down and wait for the other. The sprightly lines of Frazee’s black-pencil and gouache illustrations add to the slapstick humor. (Beach Lane/Simon, 3–6 years)

 From the September 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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