Rez Dogs - by Joseph Bruchac

About the Book

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

Book Synopsis

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

Review Quotes

Awards and Praise for Rez Dogs

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
NCTE/CLA Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts Award
NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books
Iowa Children's Choice Award
Nebraska's Golden Sower Book Award
North Carolina Junior Book Award
Wisconsin's Just One More Page! Reading List
Pennsylvania's Young Readers Choice Award
Rhode Island Middle School Book Award
Arkansas' Charlie May Simon Book Award
New Mexico's Battle of the Books List
New Jersey's M. Jerry Weiss Award
Garden State Children's Book Award
Pacific North West Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee

★ "Hidden throughout this moving novel in verse, old stories are discovered like buried treasures."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Bruchac intricately interweaves past and present stories . . . in this rewarding intergenerational narrative."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Deftly handles weighty issues and provides readers a story they can connect with . . . [A] dose of hope for the future."--School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Story telling is an important part of culture, and Bruchac is a masterful storyteller who weaves culture with narrative."--School Library Connection, starred review

"With this gentle book, Bruchac offers children another story to expand their worlds and hearts."--Booklist

"A gentle book about family and history."--Betsy Bird for A Fuse #8 Production/SLJ

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.