Easy Readers
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The Red Sash. Jean E. Pendizwol, pictures by Nicolas Debon. (Toronto: House of Anansi Press, A Groundwood Book, 2005). A young Metis boy and his family help prepare for the great feast in the Great Hall at Fort William during the annual Rendezvous of the North West Company.
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The Voyageur's Paddle. Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrations by David Geister. (Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 2007). Readers follow a young voyageur on his yearly fur trading cycle from wintering post to Grand Portage culminating in the annual Rendezvous of the North West Company.
Chapter Books
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The Birchbark House. Louise Erdrich. (New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 1999). Readers will be riveted by the daily life of an Ojibwe family beginning in 1847 on Madeline Island. First book in the series.
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The Broken Blade. William Durbin. (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell books for Young readers, A Yearling Book, 1997). In 1800, thirteen-year-old Pierre la Parge signs on to be a voyageur, leaving Montreal and paddling twenty-four hundred miles into the wilderness.
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The Game Of Silence. Louise Erdrich. (New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2005). Omakyas's tale, begun in The Birchbark House continues in 1850 with disturbing changes to the traditional Ojibwe way of life. Second book in the series.
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Trouble at Fort La Pointe. Kathleen Ernst. (Middleton, WI: Pleasant Company Publications, American Girl/History Mysteries, 2000). In 1732, twelve-year-old Suzette hopes her father will win a fur trapping contest so that he can quit being a voyageur and stay with his Ojibwe family year-round. But when he is accused of stealing, Suzette must use her knowledge of both European and Native ways to find the real thief.
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The Porcupine Year. Louise Erdrich. (New York, NY: Harper Collins). In 1852 Omakayas and her Ojibwe family travel west to escape the expansion of settlers encroaching on their land. Third book in the series.
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Wintering. William Durbin. (New York: Dell Books for Young Readers, A Yearling Book, 1999). In this sequel to The Broken Blade, Pierre La Page, now fourteen, is ready to become an hivernant, to "winter over," trapping and trading furs with a crew in the north.
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With Pipe, Paddle, and Song: A Story of the French-Canadian Voyageurs circa 1750. Elizabeth Yates. (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1968). A young French-Indian boy leaves his familiar life in Montreal to join a brigade of voyageurs traveling deep into the pays d'en haut wilderness of upper Canada.
Activity book
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A Great Lakes Fur Trade Coloring Book (Les Fourrures et les grands lacs Chier a colorer). Chet Kozlak. (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981). Useful text in both English and French and well-researched coloring sheets that detail various aspects of the fur trade and the daily lives of voyageurs.
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