The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Erdrich, Louise. The Game of Silence. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2005.

2. PLOT SUMMARY

The book is the second book to a planned nine-book series that highlights one year in the life of Omakayas, a young native girl. There are only four book released as of April 2017.


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Omayakas is a nine year old girl in the Ojibwe tribe. The book takes place one year in the life of the girl. The story follows the big and small events that happens as the seasons change. The area around Lake Superior in the mid 19th century is explained as the tribe moves to different homes depending on the season. As Omayakas explains, their language is not written down and it is hard to define exactly what year it is. They describe time through memories and weather. For example, Omayakas is nine winters old. The white man or non-Indians, called chimookoman, have been around for three generations. There are over one hundred Ojibwe words throughout the book that are explained in a glossary, though most can be inferred from context. Many members of her family and tribe are described in length. A small problem is introduced in Summer that is not pressing to the characters, but is dooming for the readers who know Native American history. By the end of Spring, the tribe is being pushed out of their lands. There is a sense of foreboding while reading the novel knowing the tragedies that will eventually the Native Americans in our history.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

2006 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Matt Berman from Common Sense Media: "Louise Erdrich writes in a flowing, seamless style, and liberally salts her story with Ojibwe words. An Ojibwe herself, she writes with the confidence and authority of an insider."

From Kirkus Review: "Eager readers beguiled by her sturdy and engaging person will scarcely notice that they have absorbed great draughts of Ojibwe culture, habits and language."


5. CONNECTIONS

Other Books by Jim Murphy:
The Birchbark House     ISBN: 9781504759229
Grandmother's Pigeon     ISBN: 9780786821372
The Range Eternal     ISBN: 9780786802203
The Porcupine Year    ISBN: 9780006393917
Chickadee     ISBN: 9780060577902
Makoons     ISBN: 9780060577933

Lesson Plans:
Chelsea Brolsma, Stephanie Kuzyk, Stephanie Lueck, and Brent Stinson created a lesson plan together. It is meant for middle school grades. Lesson Plan

The publisher offers a great Teacher's Guide for all of the books available in the series. Harper Collins Study Unit