Rez dogs

Joseph Bruchac, 1942-

Book - 2021

"Twelve-year-old Malian lives with her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic"--

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Subjects
Genres
Novels in verse
Children's stories
Animal fiction
Published
New York : Dial Books for Young Readers 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Joseph Bruchac, 1942- (author)
Physical Description
185 pages ; 22 cm
Audience
Ages 8-12
Grades 4-6
ISBN
9780593326213
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Malian, a Wabanaki girl, can't go home to her parents in Boston because she must shelter in place with her grandparents on the rez, thanks to being caught there by the COVID--19 pandemic during a weekend visit. She loves her grandparents but is often bored. That changes one morning when she wakes up and sees the rez dog outside, just as she had dreamed he would be. When it becomes obvious that he has adopted the family and become its self-appointed protector, Malian names him Malsum, the old name for a wolf. Noted Abenaki author Bruchac limns Malian's growing friendship with the dog in this accomplished novel in verse. Episodic in structure, it captures the family's daily lives and shares the grandparents' traditional stories, ensuring that a connection remains between them and the natural world. Readers also learn about injustices visited on Native peoples and hear Malian's white teacher's declaration that "we need to learn more of each other's stories." With this gentle book, Bruchac offers children another story to expand their worlds and hearts.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Bruchac (Peacemaker), who is Abenaki, pens a spare novel-in-verse that richly addresses an array of subjects, including Wabanaki legends and beliefs, residential schools, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the difficulties of online schooling with insecure Wi-Fi. Eighth grader Malian is quarantining with her grandparents after a short visit to their Penacook reservation is extended indefinitely due to shelter-in-place restrictions. Malian deeply misses her Boston-based parents but absorbs her grandparents' stories--including how social services forcibly removed Malian's mother from her parents to be adopted by a white family. When Malian finds a hound outside her door, one with white spots above its eyes that the Penacook people call a "four-eyed dog," she names him Malsum, Wabanaki for wolf. As Malsum becomes Malian's closest companion, Bruchac showcases how rez dogs are integral to Native community: "We humans were lucky/ they chose to live with us./ Or maybe it was the other way around--that we were the ones who chose/ to live with them." Employing the third-person perspective, Bruchac intricately interweaves past and present stories, displaying how Native mistreatment has been cyclical with a deft touch in this rewarding intergenerational narrative. Ages 8--12. (June)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review

In this verse novel, Malian, a Penacook girl, is visiting her grandparents on the Penacook reservation when shelter-in-place orders are given due to COVID-19. Malian misses her parents and friends, but she spends time with a dog that has mysteriously appeared, and she enjoys listening to her grandparents' retellings of traditional stories. They also tell her about some of the more difficult parts of their history that have affected their nation, such as boarding schools and forced sterilizations, all touched on by Bruchac (Peacemaker, rev. 7/21) in an accessible and age-appropriate way. Ultimately, Malian's grandparents remind her that their people have survived pandemics before, through caring for one another. Young readers will be able to understand Malian's situation, including technological struggles in connecting to her remote classroom. The book's ending -- in which Malian waits eagerly but with mixed emotions for her parents to pick her up -- raises relatable questions of home, friendship, and belonging. Nicholl Denice Montgomery September/October 2021 p.90(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

When a Penacook girl and her grandparents must shelter in place at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, a large dog mysteriously appears to protect them. Malian's winter stay with her grandparents is extended when everything is locked down. A big dog with two white spots over his eyes shows up at their house on the reservation. "Four-eyed dog," her grandmother calls him. They name him Malsum, meaning "wolf," and he makes himself at home. "When a dog like / that just appears / and chooses you, / it's not your decision." Although Malian misses her parents in Boston and online classes are difficult due to the poor internet connection, her grandparents entertain her with stories. She finds that even when she's hearing one again, there's "always / something in that story / that was more." Her grandfather tells her "that all the old stories / are so alive / that even when you hear / one of them again, / that story may decide / to show you / something new." Bruchac (Abenaki) tenderly braids traditional Wabanaki stories and, via Malian's family history, stories of atrocities visited on Native nations into Malian's lockdown experience. As early spring turns to summer and Malsum makes himself part of the family, she turns these stories into a school presentation, a process that helps her realize that, like her grandparents and the big dog, she's "a rez dog too." Hidden throughout this moving novel in verse, old stories are discovered like buried treasures. (Verse fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

chapter one malsum When Malian woke up and looked out her window, the dog was there. Just as she had dreamed it would be. It was lying on the driveway halfway between their small house and the road. It wasn't sleeping, its head was up, its ears erect, its paws in front of it as if on guard. As Malian watched, the dog turned its head to look right at her, as if it knew her, as if it had known her for a long, long time. "Malsum," she said. "Kwai, kwai, nidoba." Hello, hello, my friend. The big dog nodded and then turned back to continue watching the road. Malsum. That was the old name for a wolf. It was a good one for that dog. It was as big as a wolf. It looked like the videos of wolves she'd watched on her phone. The only things different about it were the white spots over each of its eyes. "Four-eyed dog," a soft voice said from back over her shoulder. It was Grandma Frances. Malian had not heard her come up behind. She was used to that. Both her grandparents could walk so softly that she never knew they were there until they spoke. Grandma Frances would tease her about it. "Be careful, granddaughter, you don't want to let no Indian sneak up on you." Grandma Frances put her hand on Malian's shoulder. "Looks to me like he thinks he belongs here," she said. Then she chuckled. "Or maybe like he thinks he owns this place." "Would that be okay?" Malian said. Grandma Frances chuckled again. "It seems to me it's not up to us. When a dog like that just appears and chooses you, it's not your decision." "Can I go outside and see what he does?" Malian said. "Let's ask your grampa. Roy, get in here." But Grampa Roy was already there. "I've been listening to every word. Seems to me if you step outside and then move real slow whilst you watch what he does you'll be okay. But just in case, I'll be right behind you." Malian shook her head. "Remember what they said? You and Grandma should not go outside. It's too dangerous-- you might get that virus. That's why I can't go home to Mom and Dad." "And we're goldarn lucky you're here with us," Grampa Roy said. "That old saying about how we don't know what we'd do without you sure makes sense these days. So I'll stay inside-- but you stay in, too. Just open the door and we'll see what he does." Malian cracked open the door. The dog stood up and turned her way. He opened his mouth, let his tongue hang out in what she knew had to be a smile. She held out her wrist. "Malsum!" she called, her voice soft but sure. The big dog walked over and sniffed her hand. "Malsum," she said again, dropping down to one knee as she placed her hand on his broad head. The dog looked at her, straight into her eyes. As he held her gaze he seemed to Malian that she could see intelligence and even a hint of humor and a kind of certainty. Malsum nodded his head as if to say, Yes that can be my name. I am here for you . Then he licked her fingers before turning around and going back, heavy muscles rippling beneath his skin, to drop himself down where he had been. "Guess he is guarding us, for sure," Grampa Roy said. "Looks like you got a new friend." Excerpted from Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.