Customer Reviews

The Birchbark House

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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Reading this book to my 6 and 8 year old sons has been a wonderful learning experience for us all. Some children's books drift by the adult reader, or fail to engage the kids. This one hooked us all. My 8-year-old talked about the story in school, and now his teacher is requesting that the school library order a copy since the other kids are eager to read it, too. I am ordering this copy for the teacher herself as a holiday gift. I know she will enjoy reading it, and sharing it with kids in years to come.

I read this book aloud to my daughter's 3rd-4th grade class. Thirty or so children (ages 8, 9 & 10) listened attentively for 30 minutes near the end of each day for several weeks. If a child had been absent, other students would update him or her. Their teacher took over one day when I couldn't be there and read the chapter when the family is stricken with small pox. The next day a group of girls met me in the hall to tell me how sad it was when Omakayas' little brother died. Another time, the entire group burst out laughing at a comical event. The pictures were beautiful, but I chose not to show them while I read. I enjoyed having the Ojibwe words interspersed throughout the text. I had to slowly sound words out, and I believe that learning them together helped the students and me connect.

A great tale. Author Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwa, has written a story of 1847 Ojibwa life. The book is truly a labor of love, including such amazing elements as a detailed map of the area in which her story takes place, a glossary of terms, and multiple sources considered during the writing of this tale. Even more, the book is a compact series of small vignettes of standard Ojibwa life, crushing stereotypes and myths with sure swift prose. Erdrich has written a story that has truly created its own separate niche.

Omakayas (or Little Frog) lives in a sturdy birchbark house in a land doomed one day to become Wisconsin. With her family we see her step through the paces of day to day existence. The book encompasses a single year in Omakayas's life; one filled with as much terror and despair as love and hope. Helping her family to battle smallpox, find food in a desperate winter, and deal with the small details imperative to survival, we watch Omakayas grow from an uncertain young girl to a competent, if still learning, young woman.

The book is almost an answer to the Laura Ingels Wilder tales. Truth be told, the two titles have much in common. Both deal implicitly with Native American/white settler relations. Both look at the details of daily life, realistically describing everything from food preparation to parties. Even the illustrations of the book (drawn by author Erdrich herself) bear a great resemblance to the Garth Williams' pics we remember so well from the Little House books. But Erdrich has the benefit of hindsight and (let's face it) superior knowledge concerning the ways of both the whites and the Ojibwa. Her writing expertly allows her to create interesting variegated personalities that trump the one-dimensional stick figure Indians Wilder relied on so heavily. These characters have a harsh, but really great life. There's the buffoon, Albert LaPautre (half French) who continually claims to have had meaningful visions and dreams. There's Old Tallow, a powerful woman of her own means, surrounded by a pack of wolf-dogs and wearing coats woven from a variety of different furs. And then there's Omakayas herself, dreaming true visions and meeting true woodland creatures, even going so far as to train a crow of her own.

The books ends with this sentence, "Omakayas tucked her hands behind her head, lay back, closed her eyes, and smiled as the song of the white-throated sparrow sank again and again through the air like a shining needle, and sewed up her broken heart". It's an ending that contains a lot of hope for the future. Erdrich does not dwell on the fate that may lay in store for Omakayas and her beloved family. We know what will happen. It's enough to see them happy at this moment alone. "The Birchbark House" is a courageous creation, one that I'm certain will please even the most merciless of Erdrich's critics. Full of well rounded characters, a gripping plot, and wonderful tangents it's one of the best ways to introduce kids to a different time and place.

This was a very special book. I read it aloud to my children, ages 9, 7 and 5 and each of them loved it. The Birchbark House was touching, exciting, funny, and interesting. I came to this site hoping that Louise Erdrich had already written another book about this family, but it doesn't appear that she has. Hopefully soon!

I really liked The Birchbark House. My favorite part was probably when Omakayas visited Old Tallow's house, and got scared because of of the dogs. Then Old Tallow came out and got the dog to go away. I hope that Loise Erdrich writes another book like this one!

Louise Erdrich is a wonderful story writer. She wrote the book with feelings. When the main characters Ten Snow and Baby Neewo died I felt like I had known the characters like they were my friends. When Old Tallow told Omakayas that she was the only survivor from Spirit Island it felt real. In conclusion, I think Louise Erdrich is a wonderful story writer.

The Birchbark House was a good book and I think Louise Erdrich is a wonderful author and illustrator. The part I liked the most was when the main character's, Omakayas, grandmother told her a story in the winter. It was about her grandmother when she was a little girl. A sad event in the book was when the visitor came and brought smallpox to the village. It was also sad when Omakayas's little brother died. All in all, everybody should read this book.

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich is a book all kids will want to read. The manin character is an Ojibwa girl named Omakayas. It was really sad when Ten Snow (Omakayas's friend) and Neewo (Omakayas's baby brother) died. I really liked the part when Baby Neewo spoke to Omakayas through the birds. All in all, I think this book is better to read together than alone.

I think Louise Erdrich wrote a wonderful book about a Native American girl who is going to become a healer when she grows up.I loved the book so much I could read it again and again.The book is sad, happy, and funny in different chapters. The book really touchs you somehow.In conclusion Louise Erdrich wrote a good book for readers of all ages.

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich is a very amazing book. What I liked was when Old Tallow told Omakayas that she was the only one who survived smallpox. The one other part I liked was when Pinch ate the berries because he ends up saying Andeg(the bird)ate them but it really wasn't. The part that I disliked was when baby Neewo and Ten Snow died. It was really sad. Also the other part I disliked was when the visitor came because that's when everybody got sick. All in all this book was really interesting.