The Barren Grounds: The Misewa Saga, Book One
- Downloads：3301
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-26 10:51:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：David Alexander Robertson
- ISBN：0735266123
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle-grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson。
Morgan and Eli， two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities， are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg， Manitoba。 They each feel disconnected， from their culture and each other， and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place， walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom。 A portal opens to another reality， Ask�， bringing them onto frozen， barren grounds， where they meet Ochek （Fisher）。 The only hunter supporting his starving community， Misewa， Ochek welcomes the human children， teaching them traditional ways to survive。 But as the need for food becomes desperate， they embark on a dangerous mission。 Accompanied by Arik， a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline， they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them。
Morgan and Eli， two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities， are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg， Manitoba。 They each feel disconnected， from their culture and each other， and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place， walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom。 A portal opens to another reality， Ask�， bringing them onto frozen， barren grounds， where they meet Ochek （Fisher）。 The only hunter supporting his starving community， Misewa， Ochek welcomes the human children， teaching them traditional ways to survive。 But as the need for food becomes desperate， they embark on a dangerous mission。 Accompanied by Arik， a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline， they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them。
Reviews
Erin
，
This was such a fun/quick read！
Kate Cronin
，
Thanks to my friend Tracie， an amazing language arts middle school teacher-hero， I'm now sucked into another series （！！） - but what a way to start。 I can't wait to see what comes next。 Especially since I've established that I'm still secretly 12。 Billed as the indigenous Narnia Chronicles， it is easy to see the comparisons， especially with the secret portal and the spiritual overtones。 This will suck you in， and like I said， can't wait to see what comes next。 Thanks to my friend Tracie， an amazing language arts middle school teacher-hero， I'm now sucked into another series （！！） - but what a way to start。 I can't wait to see what comes next。 Especially since I've established that I'm still secretly 12。 Billed as the indigenous Narnia Chronicles， it is easy to see the comparisons， especially with the secret portal and the spiritual overtones。 This will suck you in， and like I said， can't wait to see what comes next。 。。。more
Jaime
，
Awesome book with indigenous content。
Catharine
，
An okay fantasy world quest style adventure。 Features indigenous characters。
Colleen。Rowleyspiritsd。Ca
，
Such a good book for a read a loud at school。
Chelsey
，
3。5
Leigh Briody
，
Read this for the upcoming Global Read Aloud that takes place in October to preview it for my direct ELA class。 Idk if it’s just too far fetched or the fantasy but I did not like this book。 I think if you love Narnia type books it might be up your alley。 But this story was hard to follow and I don’t think it would be good for my lower level readers。
Kristen
，
I enjoyed the foster home/found family aspects of this， but I just could not get into the fantasy elements （and I love me some fantasy）。 It seemed slow-moving compared to other fantasy books out there for middle grade readers， which I think is going to make it a hard sell。
Towntaker
，
Had the feel of a book that wasn't properly edited。 Lots of fascinating ideas that kind of got lost。https://twitter。com/towntaker/status/。。。 Tweet thread as I read Had the feel of a book that wasn't properly edited。 Lots of fascinating ideas that kind of got lost。https://twitter。com/towntaker/status/。。。 Tweet thread as I read 。。。more
Melissa
，
Barren Grounds by David A。 Robertson is a Junior level novel that focuses on Indigenous history in a fun and engaging way for children。Brief synopsis: Morgan and Eli and two Indigenous children who were taken from their homes and put into the foster care system。 Morgan and Elliot work to integrate into society while trying to maintain their true identity。 They understandably feel a disconnect from their culture and each other。 Morgan and Eli find a portal in their attic which opens to another wo Barren Grounds by David A。 Robertson is a Junior level novel that focuses on Indigenous history in a fun and engaging way for children。Brief synopsis: Morgan and Eli and two Indigenous children who were taken from their homes and put into the foster care system。 Morgan and Elliot work to integrate into society while trying to maintain their true identity。 They understandably feel a disconnect from their culture and each other。 Morgan and Eli find a portal in their attic which opens to another world and they need to become the heroes and save Misewa from the everlasting wintery weather。 They will learn about their traditional culture along the way and work to find their true identities。 My thoughts: I really enjoyed the beginning of this book and the part that took place in “real life”。 I wish there was more of that in this book and less of the Misewa “world”。 I liked how we learned about Morgan’s challenges integrating into her new life and some of the things that she struggles with being an Indigenous foster child。 I liked how this brought light to the struggles and challenges these children experienced as they had to integrate into their new society and environment。 I also really enjoyed the Indigenous legends and traditional language that was strewn throughout the book。 I unfortunately did not love the story that took place in Misewa- which was unfortunate because it was most of the book。 I felt that this resembled Narnia and the idea of going through a closet into a new imaginative world。 This was the first book of the series and I think I will read the second and likely read this one to my Grade 6 class as I know they will likely enjoy this book。 Overall Rating * * * 。。。more
Christine
，
The most interesting part of this book， for me， was getting to know Morgan's character at the beginning of the story。 She is a multi-layered， nuanced character， and I can't recall reading about a character before who is like her or who is in her particular situation。 I also really enjoyed the humor in the author's writing style， especially the Narnia allusion near the end！ Highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys fantasies that have connections to our world。 The most interesting part of this book， for me， was getting to know Morgan's character at the beginning of the story。 She is a multi-layered， nuanced character， and I can't recall reading about a character before who is like her or who is in her particular situation。 I also really enjoyed the humor in the author's writing style， especially the Narnia allusion near the end！ Highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys fantasies that have connections to our world。 。。。more
Elizabeth Moreau Nicolai
，
This book is noot Alaskana， but it's Northern/Canadian and will feel very familiar to Alaskan kids。 I adored the fantasy setting， the animals， the portals， all of it。 Obviously it parallels Narnia， but it is so much better。 The Indigenous content was so beautifully handled。 Morgan， who lost her identity when she was taken from her mother and put in foster care， that is the story of far too many Native and Indigenous children。 I know it will hit a really powerful chord。This book deserves to be on This book is noot Alaskana， but it's Northern/Canadian and will feel very familiar to Alaskan kids。 I adored the fantasy setting， the animals， the portals， all of it。 Obviously it parallels Narnia， but it is so much better。 The Indigenous content was so beautifully handled。 Morgan， who lost her identity when she was taken from her mother and put in foster care， that is the story of far too many Native and Indigenous children。 I know it will hit a really powerful chord。This book deserves to be on library shelves across Canada and Alaska。 。。。more
Kristin
，
Excellent middle grade adventure/fantasy/environmental/indigenous fiction- it hits so many marks without going overboard or getting preachy， and the characters are so likable。 I really look forward to reading this with my 7th graders for the Global Read Aloud this fall！
Aphasiana FaZe
，
I absolutely loved this novel。 It is intended for children and I know they love it too but I would also recommend it to adults。 The way Indigenous lore is incorporated into the tale is seamless。 The world-building is well executed。 The characters are easy to connect with。 There are clear morals to the story without that making it boringly didactic。 I look forward to reading more of the Misewa Saga。
Shonna Froebel
，
https://cdnbookworm。blogspot。com/2021。。。 https://cdnbookworm。blogspot。com/2021。。。 。。。more
Marilyn
，
It takes some time to get the story rolling but once it does it’s an exciting retelling of the Cree legend of the Fisher （Ochek）。 There were moments while they were struggling in the frozen Barren Grounds that I was legitimately uncomfortable and slightly nervous （though not fully scared） at what was to come。 Morgan is not the most appealing personality to be with， though I certainly know my share of teenagers and she is authentically acerbic and with much better reasons than most。 I see that th It takes some time to get the story rolling but once it does it’s an exciting retelling of the Cree legend of the Fisher （Ochek）。 There were moments while they were struggling in the frozen Barren Grounds that I was legitimately uncomfortable and slightly nervous （though not fully scared） at what was to come。 Morgan is not the most appealing personality to be with， though I certainly know my share of teenagers and she is authentically acerbic and with much better reasons than most。 I see that this will be a series and I do hope that future books will cover more of what happened to Morgan in the real world and hopefully she will begin to heal。 It’s an interesting story that does have elements of Lion， Witch and the Wardrobe but don’t expect the writing to be as polished as in CS Lewis’s series。 The writing here is a bit rough and the reader must be forgiving of some awkward phrasing but the heart of this story is very much needed in this time and I appreciated it very much。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
A trip to a mythological story of indigenous people。 As always， animal characters personify their animal traits & man is the evil， the downfall。 Tale of self-discovery and growth。
Pascale
，
Just my type of story。 I can’t wait to read it again！
Sam Bloom
，
4。5 stars
Merenwen
，
Pretty good。 I feel like the portal could've been explained a bit better， but given that it's a children's book I won't judge it too harshly。 Pretty good。 I feel like the portal could've been explained a bit better， but given that it's a children's book I won't judge it too harshly。 。。。more
Tiffani Reads
，
I can see why this book was chosen to be the global read aloud for 2021， it is fantastic。 This book has so many good conversations about loss of culture， and stolen culture。 It talks about how Indigenous people live in harmony with nature， and how when you take too much from nature， it can no longer provide for you。 I really enjoyed reading this book and learning from it。 I highly recommend that audiobook if you find some of the Cree language in here hard to pronounce， plus the audiobook narrato I can see why this book was chosen to be the global read aloud for 2021， it is fantastic。 This book has so many good conversations about loss of culture， and stolen culture。 It talks about how Indigenous people live in harmony with nature， and how when you take too much from nature， it can no longer provide for you。 I really enjoyed reading this book and learning from it。 I highly recommend that audiobook if you find some of the Cree language in here hard to pronounce， plus the audiobook narrator is amazing。 I have seen this book compared to Narnia but honestly， it is amazing and I enjoyed it way more than I did Narnia。 David A。 Robertson has outdone himself with this book and I cannot wait to continue on in the series。 。。。more
chapterchimera
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4/5- ❄️The Barren Grounds❄️A narnia inspired dystopia adventure novel of a indigenous orphan girl’s identity crisis and how her mindset alters after helping some magical creatures。 Morgan has a short-temper。 Having a bad history with previous foster parents helps facilitate that。 However， when she confides her ideas with her new foster brother Eli， things look promising。 This is until Morgan and Elia are whisked away into a apocalypse winter wasteland inhabited by talking creatures。 Can Morgan t 4/5- ❄️The Barren Grounds❄️A narnia inspired dystopia adventure novel of a indigenous orphan girl’s identity crisis and how her mindset alters after helping some magical creatures。 Morgan has a short-temper。 Having a bad history with previous foster parents helps facilitate that。 However， when she confides her ideas with her new foster brother Eli， things look promising。 This is until Morgan and Elia are whisked away into a apocalypse winter wasteland inhabited by talking creatures。 Can Morgan trust them all？ Or are some of them more colder then the blizzard they live in？ *********************❄️***********************Although， the story begins fairly uneventful it becomes much more interesting when the heroes meet the wolf。 I felt like Emily’s interactions with Morgan were boring and predictable。 It would have been better if Emily was asking Morgan about her poem because she secretly wanted to copy it。 Morgan unwittingly gives her the poem， only for her to steal it for the assignment 。 As a result， Morgan gets into trouble with her teacher。 This then leads to her poor behaviour at home and motivation for going to the barren grounds。This would have also given some explanation for her constant outbursts。 Also， I didn’t think that Morgan specifically learned anything that helped her manage her temper when on the mission at misewa。 It would have been great to see Ocehwik teaching her how the virtue of patience and managing her anger during the adventure。I was also disappointed that Eli and Morgans parents were left anonymous and the actual reason why they were orphaned is left ambiguous。 This could be explained more in the second novel but I just felt that Morgan’s constant flashbacks and dreams didn’t lead to a definite conclusion or revelation。 I also found it unusual that Morgan and Eli begin randomly referring to each other as siblings despite no revelation or conversation。I found the story of how misewa was plunged into winter time to be a very imaginative and creative idea。 Mason was definitely a formidable villain and he definitely put up a incredible fight。 However， I would have liked to know a brief origin story of how Mason arrived in misewa and captured the summer birds。 Also， after thinking about the novel for sometime after finishing my it。 I stumbled upon the idea that Ocehwik could have easily tied up Mason when he was sleeping。 To conclude， the barren grounds is a classically themed storyline that provides integrity， wonderment and emotionally poignant scenes。 Because of the fighting sequences and hunting I believe the story is more appealing to a older audience。 Although， the story has a mediocre and gradual beginning。 The subsequent events close to the finale are incredibly endearing， action -packed and captivating。 Ochek’s and wolfs death were some of the most surprising developments during these chapters。 I can definitely see potential for the book being adapted for a thrilling live-action/animated film。 Will definitely be reading the next book in the series 。 。。。more
Jennifer Cain
，
Looking forward to sharing with my students during the GRA。 Great Choice！
Catherine Fitzsimmons
，
So sweet， so beautiful。 Loved the characters and their development。 4。5 stars。 Give me more indigenous spec fic。
Jennifer Bromma
，
Wonderful fantasy novel based on indigenous stories。 Own voice story for middle school。 So much to unpack in this book。 Great discussions will come from this！
Kelly Hurst
，
I really tried to give it a chance， very slow， nothing to pull me in。 Didn’t finish， made it to page 132。
Jenny
，
An okay middle grade fantasy。 I was never really emotionally involved。 I felt like everything fell just a bit flat。 The characters didn't really jump off the page， more development would have been fantastic。 An okay middle grade fantasy。 I was never really emotionally involved。 I felt like everything fell just a bit flat。 The characters didn't really jump off the page， more development would have been fantastic。 。。。more
Julie
，
A great Indigenous book。 Ages 8+
Beth
，
The comparison to Narnia is inevitable but possibly misleading。 However， it might be that I don’t know enough about indigenous lore to adequately judge。 Narnia is an allegory of Jesus and salvation in the stories of the New Testament。 I’ll be able to tell more about possible allegories with the next volume。 Don’t know if my 8th graders will like it or not but I will recommend it！
Rebekah Clarke
，