The Red Sash is the story of a young Metis boy who lives near the fur trading post of Fort William, on Lake Superior, nearly 200 years ago.
The Red Sash is the story of a young Metis boy who lives near the fur trading post of Fort William, on Lake Superior, nearly 200 years ago. His father spends the long winter months as a guide, leading voyageurs into the northwest to trade with the Indigenous Peoples for furs. Now it is Rendezvous, when the voyageurs paddle back to Fort William with their packs of furs, and North West Company canoes come from Montreal bringing supplies for the next season. It is a time of feasting and dancing and of voyageurs trading stories around the campfire.
With preparations underway for a feast in the Great Hall, the boy canoes to a nearby island to hunt hare. But once there, a storm begins to brew. As the waves churn to foam, a canoe carrying a gentleman from the North West Company appears, heading toward the island for shelter. The boy helps land the canoe, which has been torn by rocks and waves. Then he saves the day as he paddles the gentleman across to Fort William in his own canoe, earning the gift of a voyageur's red sash.
Jean E. Pendziwol was inspired to write The Red Sash through her involvement with Fort William Historical Park as a volunteer, and she worked closely with the Fort’s historian on the story.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
The Red Sash is the story of a young Metis boy who lives near the fur trading post of Fort William, on Lake Superior, nearly 200 years ago.
The Red Sash is the story of a young Metis boy who lives near the fur trading post of Fort William, on Lake Superior, nearly 200 years ago. His father spends the long winter months as a guide, leading voyageurs into the northwest to trade with the Indigenous Peoples for furs. Now it is Rendezvous, when the voyageurs paddle back to Fort William with their packs of furs, and North West Company canoes come from Montreal bringing supplies for the next season. It is a time of feasting and dancing and of voyageurs trading stories around the campfire.
With preparations underway for a feast in the Great Hall, the boy canoes to a nearby island to hunt hare. But once there, a storm begins to brew. As the waves churn to foam, a canoe carrying a gentleman from the North West Company appears, heading toward the island for shelter. The boy helps land the canoe, which has been torn by rocks and waves. Then he saves the day as he paddles the gentleman across to Fort William in his own canoe, earning the gift of a voyageur's red sash.
Jean E. Pendziwol was inspired to write The Red Sash through her involvement with Fort William Historical Park as a volunteer, and she worked closely with the Fort’s historian on the story.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Aug 7, 2005 |
| Specifications | 40 pages | 8.75 in x 11.25 in 40 pages | 8.5 in x 11 in |
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Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Teacher's Guide |
| Written By |
JEAN E. PENDZIWOL’S highly acclaimed picture books include When I Listen to Silence, illustrated by Carmen Mok; I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, illustrated by Nathalie Dion; Me and You and the Red Canoe, illustrated by Phil; and Once Upon a Northern Night, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award). She lives in Northwestern Ontario on the shores of Lake Superior. |
| Illustrated by |
NICOLAS DEBON won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for his book The Strongest Man in the World. His illustrations in Dawn Watch by Jean E. Pendziwol were nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award. He has also written and illustrated A Brave Soldier and Four Pictures by Emily Carr. A Canadian, he now lives in France. |
| Written By |
|
JEAN E. PENDZIWOL’S highly acclaimed picture books include When I Listen to Silence, illustrated by Carmen Mok; I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, illustrated by Nathalie Dion; Me and You and the Red Canoe, illustrated by Phil; and Once Upon a Northern Night, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award). She lives in Northwestern Ontario on the shores of Lake Superior. |
| Illustrated by |
|
NICOLAS DEBON won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for his book The Strongest Man in the World. His illustrations in Dawn Watch by Jean E. Pendziwol were nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award. He has also written and illustrated A Brave Soldier and Four Pictures by Emily Carr. A Canadian, he now lives in France. |
| Audience | ages 5 to 8 / grades K to 3 |
| Reading Levels | Lexile 660L |
| Key Text Features | author's note; glossary |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7 |
Long-listed, Michigan Reading Association's "Great Lakes Great Books", 2007
Commended, CCBC Our Choice, 2006
“Debon's wonderful bold gouache and mixed-media paintings...captivate with their detail of fort life, their freshness perfectly attuned to this tale's tone.” —Globe and Mail
“Pendziwol gives just enough detail for a real sense of this long-ago way of life....nicely abetted by Debon's gouache and mixed-media spreads.” —Horn Book
“The Red Sash is...a welcome curriculum resource...” —Quill & Quire