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42nd out of 137 books
—
675 voters
Chickadee (The Birchbark House)
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Chickadee is the first novel of a new arc in the critically acclaimed Birchbark House series by New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich.
Twin brothers Chickadee and Makoons have done everything together since they were born--until the unthinkable happens and the brothers are separated.
Desperate to reunite, bo...more
Twin brothers Chickadee and Makoons have done everything together since they were born--until the unthinkable happens and the brothers are separated.
Desperate to reunite, bo...more
208 pages
Published
August 21st 2012
by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
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Should probably be three stars, because I didn't like this book at all at first; I thought it was a jumble up until the main thrust of the plot starts, when Chickadee is kidnapped. Neither the plot threads, the setting, nor the characters kept me engaged. The writing felt overly expository. But then, once the story starts! The book reads very quickly, too quickly; I wanted to keep reading it for hours, and can't wait for the next book in the series.
This isn't the lovely, complete book The Porcup...more
This isn't the lovely, complete book The Porcup...more
Feb 09, 2013
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
animals,
bullies,
community,
faith,
families,
names,
ncbla2013,
cultural-identity,
dance,
strong-women,
road-trip,
rural-life,
survival
The books of Louise Erdrich always make me feel as though I am soaking comfortably in a warm bath, easing my troubles away. As with all her titles, this fourth one that continues the Birchbark House series did not disappoint me. Although she chooses her words carefully, slowly building her characters and revealing her book's plot, she does so deftly and sensitively, drawing readers into the family's inner circle, and making us laugh, weep, and hold our breaths to see what will happen. The story...more
This is the fourth book in the Birchbark House series, a story about a family of Ojibwe Indians in the 1800s. This story follows Chickadee, one of the twin sons of Omakayas, the original main character in the stories. It begins as the family gathers at their spring sugaring camp in Lake of the Woods (Canada). Chickadee is stolen from the camp by two brutish traders, who take him south into the Great Plains of Minnesota to be their slave. Fortunately, Chickadee is able to escape, but it takes tim...more
With immense satisfaction and a deep sigh, I read the last words in Louise Erdrich's Chickadee and then gazed at the cover. Chickadee is the fourth book in her Birchbark House series, launched in 1999.
My copy arrived yesterday afternoon and I immediately began reading--but not racing--through Chickadee, because it is written with such beauty, power, and elegance that I knew I'd reach the end and wish I could go on, reading about Omakayas and her eight-year-old twin boys, Chickadee and Makoons.
Th...more
My copy arrived yesterday afternoon and I immediately began reading--but not racing--through Chickadee, because it is written with such beauty, power, and elegance that I knew I'd reach the end and wish I could go on, reading about Omakayas and her eight-year-old twin boys, Chickadee and Makoons.
Th...more
In 1866, two ne-er-do-well brothers from his own Ojibwe tribe kidnap Chickadee from his family's spring sugaring camp and try to make him their servant. Chickadee travels from Canada to the Great Plains of Minnesota with his kidnappers, all the while missing the comforts of home, the love of his family, and the companionship of his twin brother, Makoons. Chickadee bravely summons the courage to plot his escape and begin the harrowing journey home; meanwhile, Chickadee's family sets out on their...more
I only read the first book in this series, The Birchbark House, so I pretty much read this as a stand alone novel. I also have a personal reason to love this book - I spent much of childhood in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota on Lake Superior, and twice worked with the Anishinabe community there. Now that I live in CA, reading this was a lot like going home.
I really appreciated the way in which Erdrich has written a historical fiction novel that is still accessible to its audience. The rich cu...more
I really appreciated the way in which Erdrich has written a historical fiction novel that is still accessible to its audience. The rich cu...more
Chickadee is a charming chapter book for kids 8-12. It is the 4th in a series called Birchbark House about an Ojibwe family with twins--Chickadee and Makoons or Little Bear. I think twins who read it would especially understand the strong connection between these two boys, especially when one of them is kidnapped. The setting in the woodlands and later on the Great Plains is in the area of St. Paul, Minnesota in 1866. The story includes many words from the Ojibwe language; there is even a glossa...more
“Chickadee”, the latest in Erdrich’s Birchbark House series, introduces us to twins Chickadee and Makoons. They are mischievous and energetic, and completely devoted to each other. However, their high spirits land them in trouble when a prank goes awry and Chickadee is stolen away from his brother and family to be a servant. Determined to find each other, both Chickadee and his mourning family set out to find their way back to each other, encountering missionaries, fur trappers, new settlements...more
Erdrich again turns Wilder's Little House series on its head, with her descriptions of maple sugar making, dancing, and jigging providing a counterpoint to Wilder's description of the same in Little House in the Big Woods. Don't get me wrong, Wilder's books sustained me as a child, but part of that fascination was the unspoken understanding that these people had created something unique by carving a new territory and civilization out of the American wilderness. Erdrich reminds us that much of w...more
I have taught this series since The Birchbark House along with Little House on the Prairie in my Female Voices in Historical Narratives class. Erdrich's language is so fresh and direct, the stories so engaging, we have come to love this family and feel their many travails. This one's focus is on Omykayas' twin sons, and how the family moves from the forests to the plains. I was especially taken - again, as in all the other books - with her clear depiction of the spirit world and its place in the...more
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This is my first return to Omakayas and her family since reading The Birchbark House. Erdrich is a storyteller, through and through, and even children who aren't captured by the plot should be drawn in by the rich setting and well-developed characters. The seamless integration of Ojibwe culture and details of daily life are fascinating, and the story is a good blend of action, humor, and sweetness. It's a bit of a shame that the flowery cover will put off boys. Despite the main character being a...more
Great storytelling, engaging characters, gives a solid sense of the people and setting of the northern plains in the 1860s. Omakaya is grown and married, and has twin sons, Chickadee and Makoons. They choose to live in a more isolated area to avoid the diseases that the French traders have brought, but when they gather with others for the maple sugar harvest, Chickadee is stolen and taken into the plains territory by two brutish brothers, who want to make him their servant. As the entire family,...more
I have not read the other books in the Birchbark House series, but that was not a problem. This reads as a stand alone. Historical information about the Ojibwe fills much of the story but this is mainly a story of family and adventure when a boy, Chickadee, is kidnapped and he and his family, including his twin brother, try to find each other again. The characters are well developed, although I was confused at times with who was who. The glossary at the end is useful although I didn't refer to i...more
I wavered between 4 and 5 on this; it's a very sweet, subtle book. How refreshing that the plot is driven by a family acting out of love, even giving up their lifestyle for the sake of their missing son. I read this during the time of the NE blizzard, and it made me think what it must have been like to live "in the wild" under such conditions. There is gentle humor, and interesting detail to help the reader appreciate the means of survival. I wish I had realized there was a glossary in the back...more
Omakayas and Animikiins and their twin boys have a good life until Chickadee, one of the sons, is kidnapped. Family and friends, including the awesome woman, Two Strike, go in search of him. The resourceful little boy manages to get away from the two men who had taken him, find his Uncle Quill, and reconnect with his family, relocated now form the North woods to the Great Plains. As always with this series of books, much of the pleasure is derived from the details about the everyday life of this...more
Erdich expands the theme of the small overcoming the mighty in Chickadee. The account of a small Native American boy being kidnapped then using his survival skills to find his way back to his family makes for a good read for intermediate readers. Just enough suspense to keep the momentum going, but I really like the historical perspective the author puts into her books and this series.
I think my favorite of the whole series has been Porcupine Year, but Chickadee was a bit of a transition book since the main characters are from the next generation in the family. I love reading of this family. I found the story very believable except for the kidnappers. They really seemed more like caricatures. Overall, a wonderful addition to the series though.
This is an interesting and very charming glimpse at the life of an Ojibwe family in 1866 when one of the children is stolen and they must leave their forest home and search on the Great Plains for young Chickadee. In the process they all adapt to horses, oxcarts and learn about the great treeless land so different from their former home.
How would you feel if you were stolen away in the night from your twin brother, your best friend since birth? In this exciting fourth installment in the Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich, Chickadee struggles valiantly to be reunited with his twin and family. He cleverly escapes from his not-so-bright kidnappers, is found by some missionaries and has to escape again when they want to clean him up, which includes cutting of his long braids! This is a story of wilderness survival, humor, and...more
ARC received from Goodreads.com Giveaway
"Chickadee" is Book 4 in the Birchbark House Series by Louise Erdrich. I found the book very well-researched and well-written. Chickadee is one of a set of twins who is kidnapped from his family's home in the middle of the night. The kidnappers think it's OK to take him because his family has two who look the same. This is the story of Chickadee making his way back to his family. He has many adventures and meets some spirits who help him. This would be a g...more
"Chickadee" is Book 4 in the Birchbark House Series by Louise Erdrich. I found the book very well-researched and well-written. Chickadee is one of a set of twins who is kidnapped from his family's home in the middle of the night. The kidnappers think it's OK to take him because his family has two who look the same. This is the story of Chickadee making his way back to his family. He has many adventures and meets some spirits who help him. This would be a g...more
I might not have liked his one as much as YEar of the Porcupine, but still better than most historical fiction out there. If I have any complaints, it's the two buffoon villains. They weren't very believable. But I do look forward to anything Erdich has to add to this series. I'm addicted to this family.
I ordered this from the library thinking it was the second book in the Birchbark House series, but it is the fourth. Since i didn't have anything else on hand to read, I read it. Very sweet book about Omakaya's twin sons. I still want to read the second and third books in the series.
I hadn't read the first books in the Birchbark series, but that was okay. This book absolutely stands on its own. It is engaging, adventurous and sweet. It would make a great read-aloud. Especially for someone (or a whole class) studying Native Americans and pioneers.
-Dawn
-Dawn
Great writing and storytelling - use of many Ojibwe words but after you got used to seeing them they flowed nicely (and there is also a glossary in the back). It's definitely a quiet kind of storytelling, though, and not as "action packed" as the jacket advertises.
children's historic fiction; native americans 1860s. This wasn't bad and showed promise, I just wasn't able to finish it because other library patrons were waiting for it and I didn't feel like historic fiction at the time. Maybe will come back to it.
Too sweet for my taste, but if you like Laura Ingles Wilder and sweet stuff with a Native American twist, you'll like this.
Thought interjection of Indian language may be a little much for some kids.
Thought interjection of Indian language may be a little much for some kids.
Great book that is part of the Birchbark House series. Twin brothers Chickadee and Makoon are always together until Chickadee is stolen. Family goes after him and he meets them after he escapes. Story about family and spirit guides. Written and illustrated by Louise Erdrich.
This book in the Birchbark series does not focus on Omakayas but on one of her twin sons. Chickadee is kidnappped and his family works to find him as his twin falls ill wih despair.
No fair switching protagonists in the middle of the series. I wanted to read more about Omakayas, but now she's all grown up and boring (why? the adults in the first three books were well developed), replaced by her son(s).
I suppose I should be reading this as a saga-of-the-generations, not "interesting girl's story being overwritten by much less interesting boy's story now that the girl is a mother," but I can't. You'd think I'd be used to this by now--the more Erdrich I read, the less satisfyi...more
I suppose I should be reading this as a saga-of-the-generations, not "interesting girl's story being overwritten by much less interesting boy's story now that the girl is a mother," but I can't. You'd think I'd be used to this by now--the more Erdrich I read, the less satisfyi...more
Fourth in a children's series about an Ojibwe family in the late 1800's early 1900's. Good addition--great series. Louise Erdrich is a national treasure.
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Karen Louise Erdrich is a American author of novels, poetry, and children's books. Her father is German American and mother is half Ojibwe and half French American. She is an enrolled member of the Anishinaabe nation (also known as Chippewa). She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant Native writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renais...more
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