The third in the "Mighty Muskrats" mystery series. The Windy Lake Crees are hosting the National Assembly of Cree Peoples. Each of the groups will use their "treaty bundle," a collection of memorabilia sacred to each group, to tell the story of their past. But when one of the treaty bundles disappears, the Muskrats pour their hearts into the investigation, knowing that a theft will not only deprive the Crees of an important part of their heritage, but will bring dishonor on the Windy Lake group.
But who would take it? Was it tough Pearl and her gang of undisciplined teens? Or someone else who wished to sow discontent among the different groups?
It was fascinating learning about the treaty bundles and the memories and customs that went along with them. The information is still passed down orally to apprentices who inherit the role of keeper of the treaty.
"Are there any genuinely wild places left in England, Scotland, and Wales?"
Yes, and MacFarlane walks each of them, from Ynys Enlli, an island in Wales, to Ben Hope in Scotland, to the Essex coast, and everything in between, forest, mountain, moor, seashore, describing in beautiful language the breathtaking landscapes still left. This is nature's poetry in prose, dreamy, realistic, tough, gentle.
It is also a tribute to his friend Roger Deakin, who helped him plan his wild journeys.
This was everything I wanted If I Stopped Haunting You to be.
Avery Fox loved music. She just wanted to write and perform good songs. But her relentless stage mother has driven her into a career where she's the darling of everyone's social media, until an ill-designed music video in which she dresses in a way to insult her Native heritage puts her on everyone's cancel list. Her mother sends her to Oklahoma to lay low with her grandmother, who Avery's never met because her mother is estranged from her. Designer shoes and all, she comes face-to-face with Lucas Iron Eyes, who's never heard of her, and immediately thinks of her as a privileged princess.
As Avery learns more about her heritage, as well as ranch work, she learns to value Lucas and what he wants for his future, and that includes saving her grandmother Lottie's ranch. You'll cheer when she finally decides to make her own future instead of being indebted to her mother.
This is a history of Native America from the "discovery" of America by Christopher Columbus and other European explorers from the point of view of the tribes who were displaced, marginalized, massacred, starved into submission, and killed by European illnesses, plagued by distrust, hatred, broken treaties and broken promises. The Europeans' understanding of the world conflicted with the beliefs of the native population, well-illustrated by retellings of their individual creation stories and later by published writings.
Painful to read, but enlightening. My only wish is that there was an updated version bringing in the resurgence of Native culture via the internet.
And the fourth in the "Mighty Muskrats" series, taking on some big adult topics.
The Windy Lake First Nation reservation is hosting the annual Trappers Festival which includes junior and senior dogsled races. Atim is racing a team for his cousin Jody, who was in an accident and can't participate, but when one of the dogs gets ill, he's out of the race, but more worried about Muskwa, the dog. It looks like someone has tried to drug her.
The immediate suspects are an animal rights group who think the dogs are being mistreated, but they discover people heavily bet on the dog races and wonder if someone was trying to meddle with the winners. The kids must figure out the why, and then the who, if the Festival is to continue successfully.
The story discusses subjects like animal rights and vegetarianism/meat eating, gambling, and alcohol addiction.
I bought this for Thanksgiving reading. There are 46 essays/poems about gratitude, which I read two a day in order to consider thankfulness at this special season.
30 November 2025
Books Completed in November 2025
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