Vicki Foote (Children's Literature)
This third book of the series follows the story of a year in the life of Omakayas, a young Native American girl in 1852. Omakayas and her Ojibwe family have to move because of European settlers. They search for a new home and face difficulties but still make progress as they use their skills and the natural resources of the land. The story opens with an exciting chapter in which Omakayas and her brother, Pinch, are caught in the river current in their canoe. After they are swept out of their canoe, they have to fend for themselves until they are able to find their way back. Pinch acquires a porcupine that becomes his pet and enjoys sitting on Pinch’s head. Many of their adventures are serious, such as when their father is blinded by black powder but later regains his sight, and then another member of the family, Tallow, loses her life in a fight with a bear. There are small black-and-white illustrations by the author throughout the book. An author’s note about the Ojibwe language is included along with a glossary and pronunciation guide of Ojibwe terms. This story is interesting reading and provides a realistic look at the lives of the Ojibwe during those historical times. 2008, HarperCollins Children’s Books/HarperCollins Publishers, $15.99. Ages 8 to 12.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2009)
In the third volume featuring Omakayas, the Ojibwe girl is twelve years old and embarking on a journey with her family in the year 1852. Forced from their home on what is now known as Madeline Island, they travel by canoe along the shore of Lake Superior through the rivers of Northern Minnesota in search of a new home. In an exciting opening chapter, Omakayas and her brother Pinch are swept away by the rapids and assumed dead. Unable to resist the opportunity to make mischief, the pair walk into a grieving camp masquerading as their own spirits, triggering a stunned response which quickly turns to a mixture of relief and reproach. During the course of the year Omakayas experiences personal and physical maturity, and is recognized as a woman. As in her earlier books in the series, The Birchbark House (Hyperion, 1999), and The Game of Silence (HarperCollins, 2005), Ms. Erdrich crafts a seamless story of family, community, and place, encompassing humor, tragedy, and everyday life, all viewed through a child’s experience. CCBC Category: Fiction for Children. 2008, HarperCollins, 193 pages, $15.99. Ages 8-12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 15))
This third entry in the Birchbark House series takes Omakayas and her family west from their home on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, away from land the U.S. government has claimed. Difficulties abound; the unknown landscape is fraught with danger, and they are nearing hostile Bwaanag territory. Omakayas's family is not only close, but growing: The travelers adopt two young chimookoman (white) orphans along the way. When treachery leaves them starving and alone in a northern Minnesota winter, it will take all of their abilities and love to survive. The heartwarming account of Omakayas's year of travel explores her changing family relationships and culminates in her first moon, the onset of puberty. It would be understandable if this darkest-yet entry in Erdrich's response to the Little House books were touched by bitterness, yet this gladdening story details Omakayas's coming-of-age with appealing optimism. The journey is even gently funnyùOmakayas's brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and enlightening. 2008, HarperCollins, 208p, $15.99. Category: Historical fiction. Ages 9 to 11. Starred Review. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janis Flint-Ferguson (KLIATT Review, November 2008 (Vol. 42, No. 6))
Readers of Louise Erdrich’s books The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence will be thrilled to once again spend time with the Ojibway tribe in northern Minnesota. Forced from their home by the westward movement of European settlers, Omayaka’s family is hoping to meet up with relatives, gathering what they will need to survive the coming winter, and avoiding warring tribes. Along the way, her brother makes friends with a porcupine--a porcupine that in fact saves the lives of the two young people. The porcupine curls up on her brother’s head and becomes both a cap and a calendar for the family as they struggle to prepare for the winter after being horribly betrayed by a trapper they trusted. They do the best they can to build a shelter and to wrap themselves together against the fierce winter snows. It is only through an instinctual will to survive and the unselfishness of Old Tallow, the woman who had long ago rescued Omayaka, that the family is able to see their way through the winter and to their journey’s end. The story is filled with Native American tales, traditions and customs as Omayaka grows toward adulthood and her people grow into a new existence. The novel reinforces for readers the strength and importance of family within a culture that lovingly cared for the land we now share. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2008, Harper Collins, 208p., $15.99 and $16.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Debra Snyder (Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2009)
The story continues from The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence. The story was inspired by research that the author conducted on their own family history. The story starts in dramatic fashion with Omakayas and her brother, Pinch, who are hunting deer from the water at night, getting taken for a ride down a deep, dangerous rapids. After surviving their experience, the next morning they find a baby porcupine to cook for breakfast and Pinch decides to save the animal for a pet. The Ojibwa Indian Tribe is on the move to find a new home along the rivers of northern Minnesota. The tribe is ready to plant seeds, roots and permanent homes. The tribe endures hardships along the way in the form of starvation, death, weather and enemies. Erdrich mixes Indian lore and history into the Ojibwa plot. It definitely helps to have read the two previous sequels before reading this book. This is a good historical fiction choice for students to read. Girls would be drawn to the main character and the connection she has with her grandmother, Old Tallow. Category: Historical Fiction. 2008, HarperCollins, $16.89. Ages 10 to 14.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2009)
This third book about Omakayas starts off excitingly, with the Ojibwe girl and her brother swept down rapids. It becomes a bit static, slowed by details, but regains strength when a renegade uncle robs the family, leaving them close to starvation as winter closes in. They're saved, but not without considerable sacrifice that will haunt the followers of Omakayas's journey. Glos. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2008, HarperCollins, 193pp, 15.99, 16.89. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.