MAKOONS

Acclaimed author Louise Erdrich returns with another novel in the 2nd arc of the award-winning Birchbark House series. Makoons continues the story of the fiercely loyal young twins introduced in Chickadee, winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

The next installment of the generation-spanning story of an Ojibwe family that began with The Birchbark House and began anew in Chickadee, Makoons follows Omakayas’s son and Chickadee’s twin brother, Makoons.

Born in the thaw of late winter when steam ravels from the dens of bears to signal their birth, Makoons is named for the Ojibwe word for little bear, or bear child. He and his twin, Chickadee, have moved with their family to the Great Plains of Dakota Territory, leaving behind the reservations – leftover land that the U.S. Government tried to give them. The Plains belong to the buffalo, and Makoons and Chickadee are eager to learn the ways of the bison hunters from their father, and help their people make a home in this new land.

But Makoons has had a vision, one that tells him that he and his family will travel towards the western stars, but also that their family will face great hardships – hardships that they may not be able to overcome. Set in 1866, this story of Makoons and his family is based on Louise Erdrich’s own family history.

Louise Erdrich is the bestselling author of many critically acclaimed novels for adults as well, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Plague of Doves, the National Book Award medalist The Round House, and National Book Award finalist The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. She is also the author of the picture book Grandmother’s Pigeon, illustrated by Jim LaMarche. You can visit her online at www.readlouiseerdrich.com and www.birchbarkbooks.com.