PHENOMENAL SUCCESS FOR THE BARREN GROUNDS: With a starred review from Kirkus as well as being selected as a Book of the Year by Kirkus, Quill & Quire, and NPR, The Barren Grounds continues to dominate the CBC bestseller list (even toppling Cherie’s longstanding #1 position with The Marrow Thieves on occasion), as well as leading the way for Indigenous middle-grade fiction in the US, where it was selected for the Texas Lone Star list and just recently named a 2021 Global Read Aloud.

AWARD SHORTLISTS (SO FAR): The Barren Grounds was nominated for the 2021 OLA Silver Birch Award and a finalist for the 2021 Saskatchewan’s Diamond Willow Award.

DAVE IS EVERYWHERE: Dave attended festivals and other events all fall — he even lost his voice for a period of time from so much speaking! He was recently (May 2020) a featured speaker at the School Library Journal Day of Dialog.

OWL CRATE JUNIOR SELECTION! The Barren Grounds was included in the October 2020 Owl Crate Junior program, the first CDN published book to be selected. **[confidential] They have also just selected The Great Bear for a limited edition box.**

COMPELLING MIDDLE-GRADE FANTASY: Combining C. S. Lewis’ classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations, David has written a fantasy adventure that already feels like a classic, complete with talking animals and a journey through the wilderness in an effort to save the world.

DEMAND FOR INDIGENOUS AUTHORS INCREASING: A member of the Norway House Cree Nation, Dave is now being sought out by teachers and librarians to speak to their schools.

PAPERBACK EDITION OF BOOK TWO: The Great Bear will be publishing in paperback alongside this edition of The Stone Child.

DAVID A. ROBERTSON is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award. The Barren Grounds, the first book in the middle-grade The Misewa Saga series, received a starred review from Kirkus and was a Kirkus and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, as well as a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection, and nominated for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award. A sought-after speaker and educator, as well as recent recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Freedom to Read Award, Dave is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg. For more information, visit his website: www.darobertson.ca and follow him on Twitter: @DaveAlexRoberts

Author Residence: Winnipeg, Manitoba

An Indigo Best Kids’ Book of 2022

“For a combination of adventure, time travel and Indigenous culture, few series will challenge the Misewa Saga…Robertson weaves a tale that is part myth, part fantasy and wholly intriguing.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“Robertson has a lot of narrative balls in the air…but the story’s emotional arc shines true.” —Kirkus Reviews

“[T]he narratives of the two previous books of the Misewa Saga weave together in a new way, and the characters of Morgan, Emily and Eli are realized more fully…. Teen dialogue and behaviour are presented with unflinching authenticity… and Robertson is skillful in providing cultural context.” —CM Reviews

“Girl power is front and center in the latest Misewa adventure…there’s a lot of urgency, a lot of action, a lot of emotion as events include satisfying reunions and heartbreaking loss.” —Common Sense Media

“As readers, we were able to learn a lot about Cree culture in a way that’s not achievable through textbooks…these books would be a great addition to any classroom library.” —The Suburban