A lonely city girl finds her way back to her Cree roots through a magical forest celebration led by her favorite stuffed owl.
Sita MacMillan’s protagonist is Sarah Ponakey, a young Cree girl struggling to adjust to city life after moving away from her home community. In this first installment of a two-book series, Sarah misses her grandmother and her best friend, feeling like she doesn’t quite fit into her new urban surroundings. After a rough day at school, she is whisked away into a fantastical forest where animals hold a vibrant powwow. Guided by her stuffed owl, Âhâsiw—who has come to life in full regalia—Sarah learns that her culture travels with her wherever she goes.
This series is a fantastic resource for students who find long blocks of text intimidating. The chapters are short and the sentences stay mostly simple or compound, which helps readers maintain momentum without getting stuck on complex grammar. Azby Whitecalf’s expressive black-and-white illustrations appear frequently, giving visual learners a clear roadmap of the plot and emotional shifts. The author does a great job of introducing Cree vocabulary by weaving it into the story and providing context clues through the art. Because Sarah and Âhâsiw return in the next book, readers can start the second story with a sense of familiarity, already knowing the characters’ voices and the series’ visual style. This predictability is a huge confidence booster for reluctant readers, as they don’t have to start from scratch with every new book they pick up.
Total Books in Series: 2 Best Starting Point: Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw’s Forest Powwow
