Of the two children's books I read today I definitely preferred this one! The words flowed smoothly and the story itself was very captivating. I soon found myself caught up in Ohkwa'ri's life and the trouble he had gotten himself into with a bully. I think it's safe to call Grabber a bully as he certainly wanted to harm Ohkwa'ri. Right from the very beginning I knew he was going to have problems with Grabber and I was right! The ending was very surprising however...it works great for the story b...

Set after the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy, and before the arrival of European settlers, Children of the Longhouse follows the story of twin brother and sister Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia, two eleven-year-old Mohawk children. When Ohkwa'ri overhears another young boy planning a foolhardy raid against the neighboring Anen:taks people, his actions prevent disaster, but also earn him some enemies. Will they take their revenge during the next Tekwaarathon (lacrosse) game, and if so, what can Ohkw...

While I have to admit the plot of this story is a little dry and the story moves slowly, I think this book does a fantastic job at giving a peek into what life may have been like previous to the colonization of America and the impact of the Europeans. It's a pretty decent read and I can't wait to share this one with my kids.The story doesn't do a whole lot of meandering, and with the threat of war with a neighboring community being so early in the book, one would think the book would be filled w...

This is a very unique book! I’ve read several books with Native American main characters, but none quite like this one. It came up in an American History course I have been working through for a while, and I’m pretty impressed.Joseph Bruchac has done something that I consider particularly difficult: He wrote a book about a time period and place most of us these days know little or nothing about. AND he managed to do that without making the characters act like 21st-century children dropped into a...

Learned a great deal about the Five Nations of the Iroquois- helpful since I didn’t grow up in WNY.

We've been reading a lot of more recently released books lately and I am so glad this was assigned as part of our Language Arts curriculum. Both my 9 yr old and I enjoyed learning about the life of the Bear Clan and following along Ohkwa'ri as he manages the early transition to being a man. The history & information about the daily lives of the native americans prompted some good discussions as well.

I read this alongside learning about American history, and how it affected different people in the 'New World.' I got to read this particular book, which gave me a nice insight into how tribes back in the late 15th century would've lived, particularly a Mohawk Village. It was also a really exciting story, seeing how Ohkwa'ri would respond and react to the enemies he made, when he found out they were planning to raid a nearby village and told the village elders of their plots. (The story takes pl...

This is a story of twin 11-year old Mohawk children Ohkwa'ri and Otsi:stia. Ohkwa'ri is outside one day and he hears some other boys that are a little bit older than him plan a raid on a neighboring tribe. Ohkwa'ri decides that he must tells the leaders of his clan about this, which he does. In doing so, the other boys want revenge on Ohkwa'ri for telling on them. Ohkwa'ri and his sister try to figure out how to make peace with those boys before they hurt Ohkwa'ri. We read this book as part of o...

Two words: Dumpster fireThis book is... terrible. Awful. Trash. The author should be ashamed he wrote it. The plot? Imagine your favorite book's plot line as roller coaster. Lots of bumps and high points, then dropping 50 meters, right? If this book's plot line was a roller coaster, it would go up 10 meters then be completely flat for a good 5 minutes, then stop, then go up 2 meters and stop there. The characters are less likable then a teacher who assignes homework every night and weekend, and

Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac is about an 11 year old Native American boy named Ohkwa'ri. When Ohkwa'ri overhears Grabber (an older boy from Ohkwa'ri's village) and his minions planning a raid on a neighboring village, Ohkwa'ri decides the right thing to do is to tell the leaders of his village. Grabber is mad at Ohkwa'ri, (as you can imagine) and a VERY rough lacrosse-like game is going to take place. Yet, the two are on opposing teams! Find out what happens next in Children of

“Children of the Longhouse” is the story of eleven year-old Ohkwa’ri and his twin sister Otsi:stia. The twins are Mohawk, of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). One hot summer day Ohkwa’ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid against a village the Mohawks are at peace with. Uncertain of what to do, he takes what he has heard to Otsi:stia. They both decide to tell the elders about it. When the elders hear of it, they hold a council to correct the young men who had formed this rash plan. From...

This was the first read-aloud literature book of the school year for my 9 and 10 year old’s homeschool curriculum, which focuses on US History. Although a little slow at times, the fact that my kiddos (even my reluctant reader) loved it so much increased my enjoyment for the story. We read it one chapter at a time over the course of two weeks, and they were always excited to start reading the next day to see what would happen next. I struggled with quite a bit of the pronunciation but tried my b...

Children of the LonghouseBruchac, JosephThe Children of the Longhouse is a mixture of real Native American people living today, and mythology an classic Mohawk characters of the past. It is an engaging story of a young set of twins at the verge of adulthood and how they have to face many small hurtles to achieve their desires. Ohkwa`ri and Otsi:stia are twins that learn that leaning on each other they can overcome many of their problems. Ohkwa`ri is an intelligent boy who learns that if he is p

Read this one with the kids. They enjoyed the build up to the Tekwaarathon game. I enjoyed the exposure to a life lived among one of the Iroquois Nations.

This was a wonderful book! I am really perplexed that it has so many negative reviews.The book is short at just 140 pages, but the characters are well developed. I love that the main characters are 11 year old boy/girl twins, which really makes this a book in which any child can see themselves. The first half of the book is focused on every day life in a Mohawk longhouse in the late 1400s. Sometimes the information comes in a bit of a forced ways, though someone's memory, but everything is so lo...

This is a really great book that teaches a lot about Native American culture. The story is slow and peaceful but picks up at the end with an exciting sporting event. The ending brought tears to my eyes, and I am NOT a sentimental person.

This is the first book that I have read, set around Native American nations. The plot was very simple and it revolved around Ohkwari, a boy from the bear clan of the Mohawk tribe who overhears a group of older kids plotting to attack another tribe. He reports it to his elders and the rest of the story is predictable. Rather than the main plot, I loved the stories that were shared throughout the book. The stories of animals, stories of Lacrosse (Tekwaarathon) among animals, strawberry picking. Th...

A little slow in spots, but a fascinating look at Native American culture before the Europeans settler's came to America.

It might seem simple and superficial, but the book has beautiful lessons. The connection between people and nature is truly amazing and very important. This book felt like a relaxing walk in a big forest.

Great book-Bruchac is a true storyteller. Ohkwa'ri, a young boy of the Mohawk tribe, overhears other boys planning trouble. Ohkwa'riand his twin sister go to the elders with the news. During a council meeting, a game of Lacrosse(Tekaarathon) is planned. Ohwa'ri's team plays opposite those who now want to cause him trouble.Bruchac vividly describes the environment in and around the Mohawk village and their activities. His words jumped off the page into clear, brilliant and colorful pictures in my...