Rez Dogs, by Joseph Bruchac

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for April 19, 2024 is Rez Dogs, by Joseph Bruchac.

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. Rez Dogs has received several distinctions: It was a selection, in 2022, for the Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award. It was an Honor Book in 2021 for School Library Journal’s “Best Books of the Year,” and an Honor Book in 2022 for the Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.
https://youtu.be/wfhojQoJhOI