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Description
From the award-winning author of On the Trapline comes a cinematic fantasy-adventure story inspired by Indigenous legends.
One summer day, Lauren and her little brother, James, go on a trip to the land with their Moshom (grandfather). After they've arrived, the children decide to fish for dinner while Moshom naps. They are in their canoe in the middle of the lake when the water around them begins to swirl and crash. They are thrown overboard and when Lauren surfaces she sees her brother being pulled away by the Memekwesewak -- creatures who live in and around water and like to interfere with humans. Lauren must follow the Memekwesewak through a portal and along a watery path to find and bring back James. But when she finally comes upon her brother, she too feels the lure of the Memekwesewak's song. Something even stronger must pull them back home.
Publication date
April 04, 2023
Genre
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780735266704
Publisher
Tundra Books (NY)
Universe
Moshom
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational JUV012080 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Native American JUV030090 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Canada - Native Canadian
Hornbook
A satisfying story about the strength of family bonds, persistence, and determination.
Publishers Weekly
Inspired by Indigenous Turtle Island communities' stories of the memekwesewak ("one of two humanoid races on Mother Earth," per an author's note), Cree author Robertson (On the Trapline) tells of two children's harrowing adventure with the mischievous beings. Heading on a summertime "trip to the land with their moshom," siblings Lauren and James, portrayed with brown skin, become hungry and seek to catch a fish when Moshom naps after their arrival. But the canoe drifts from the shore due to Lauren's inexperience, and memekwesewak soon overturn the vessel, spiriting James through a waterfall and to their hidden world. Lauren courageously follows, finding the land of the memekwesewak and joining James in an entrancing fireside song and dance that goes "faster and faster/ for minutes that turned into/ hours that turned into days"--until another song reminiscent of distant thunder thumps in the children's hearts, calling them home. Tinged with mystery and peril, Robertson's adventure underlines a family bond and anchoring traditions, while digitally crafted, kinetic art from McKibbon (Swift Fox All Along), who is Ojibwe, Yoeme, and Irish, visualizes the memekwesewak as ghostly underwater creatures surrounded by saturated natural landscapes. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
Starred Review
A gorgeous story inspired by Indigenous legends that will lead intrepid readers on a watery adventure.
David A. Robertson (he/him/his) is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, and recipient of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. Among many other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, in 2026 David was nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. He has also received recognition for podcasting, public speaking, and social advocacy, including being honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba in 2023 and a Doctor of Laws by the University of Lethbridge in 2025 for his outstanding contributions to the arts and society. David is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.
