canoes traveling from Montreal to a faraway trading post. He's so excited, he can't stay hidden long and soon
finds himself perched on the bow of the canoe, whiskers to the wind, singing his heart out.
The voyageurs are not amused to find a pesky red squirrel among their crew. He rides, but does not paddle!
He eats, but does not cook! On the portages, he doesn't carry anything—sometimes it is he who is carried! And
he's a terrible singer. What kind of voyageur is that? Fortunately, his kind crewmate Jean Gentille takes pity on
him and lets "Le Rouge" ride in his vest pocket.
But when they finally arrive at the trading post, Jean Pierre Petite Le Rouge is in for a terrible shock—the
voyageurs have traveled 1,200 miles to collect what? Furs! Skins! The pelts of his fellow fur-bearers! Heartsick,
he believes he will have to give up his dream of becoming a voyageur. Unless, of course, he can find a way to
change their minds.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 1, 2020 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781980060741
- File size: 65424 KB
- Duration: 02:16:17
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Publisher's Weekly
Starred review from December 23, 2019
In this spry novel, Newbery Honoree Preus deftly threads together a nature adventure, history lesson, cautionary environmental tale, and an animal love story. Jean Pierre Petit Le Rouge, a curious red squirrel, annually watches singing, fur-trading “voyageurs” canoe away from Montreal and return months later with “the scent of the faraway,” which was “a smell that stirred up in me a wanderlust.” So, in May 1792, Le Rouge stows away on a canoe bound for a trading post on Lake Superior, determined to impress the voyageurs. He scampers to the top of a tree to point the way after they lose their bearings and uses his keen senses to guide the craft through fog. Despite his close bond with a kind, bookish trapper, Le Rouge announces—in a sly riff on a passage from Thoreau’s Walden—that he is “going into the woods... to live deliberately” because the voyageurs’ mission involves profiting “from the skins of my animal brethren.” Preus wraps up her entertaining and informative narrative on a heartwarming note as the loquacious, wryly contemplative squirrel finds his way—back home and in life. Evocative pictures by Pilgrim (Big and Little) augment the story’s ample heart and humor, and an author’s note contextualizes the fur trade, including its impact on indigenous people. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.
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Formats
- OverDrive Listen audiobook
Languages
- English
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