Rez Dogs by Bruchac, Joseph

Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic.

Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation--she's there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There's a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.
Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe: She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn't go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian's family knows that he'll protect them too.
Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.

**Four starred reviews!**
Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction & Poetry Honor
NPR Books We Love
Kirkus Reviews Best Books
School Library Journal Best Books
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist
Nerdy Book Club Award--Best Poetry and Novels in Verse

Author: Joseph Bruchac
Publisher: Dial Books
Published: 06/08/2021
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780593326213
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.1
Point Value: 2
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 516206 / Rez Dogs

Award: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards - Honor Book

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/15/2021 pg. 60
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2021
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2021
Publishers Weekly 05/31/2021
School Library Journal 07/09/2021 pg. 1
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2021 pg. 90
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2021 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed children's book author, poet, novelist, and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. He is the coauthor of the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series with Michael Caduto. Bruchac's poems, articles, and stories have appeared in hundreds of publications from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored many books for adults and children including Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two, Skeleton Man, and The Heart of a Chief.