Young Malian lives contentedly with her parents and extended family in an Abenaki village near Montreal in the mid-eighteenth century. One night, Malian's life changes abruptly. Silently, her father carries her off to the woods, blanket and all, and orders her to run to their tribe's winter camp. Malian obeys, but not before she turns to watch her father slip back to the village through the trees. She never sees him again. Malian's Song is based on the true story of a deliberate attack by English Major Robert Rogers on Quebec's St. Francis Abenaki community in 1759. Malian's account of"Rogers's Raid," passed down through generations of Abenaki oral tradition, reveals that many Abenaki people survived the attack that destroyed their village, in direct contrast to Rogers' journal accounts. Jeanne Brink, a descendant of Malian living in Vermont, told the Vermont Folklife Center the little-known Abenaki version of the brutal attack. In this first Abenaki and English picture book, preeminent Abenaki historian Marge Bruchac and illustrator William Maughan portray Malian's story of a people's strength and fortitude in the face of unspeakable loss.

 

This book was recognised in the Multicultural Nonfiction - Teen category by the Independent Publisher Book Award.

This book is part of a book series called Vermont Folklife Centre Children's Books .

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2006 by Vermont Folklife Center .

MARGE BRUCHAC, Abenaki, is a traditional storyteller and historical consultant to New England museums. Also a professor of Native American Studies, she holds a Ph. D. in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts. She has received three awards from the national Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts. WILLIAM MAUGHAN is the illustrator of Spirit of Endurance: The True Story of the Shackleton Expedition to the Antarctic by Jennifer Armstrong (2000) and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron by David Clement-Davies (2002), and is the author of The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head. He lives in Napa, California.