Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War

Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013
Paperback, Square Fish,12/01/2015
ISBN: 9781250062895
176 pages, ages 8-14

A story of two boys, one from the Myaamia tribe and one the child of an American trader, whose friendship is tested during the War of 1812.

Cultural and Historical Notes

“Helen Frost dives below the simple narrative of natives versus settlers to give us a refreshing look at the human side of events in the War of 1812. As the larger conflict trickles down, it reaches the lives of Anikwa and James, who must learn how to trust and respect each other during a time they don’t fully understand and in circumstances they can’t control.” —Daryl Baldwin, Director, Myaamia Center at Miami University

“The War of 1812 is a difficult conflict to simplify or condense down to a few key themes, and while SALT is a work of fiction, it quite successfully demonstrates this complexity along with providing the reader a sense of understanding and feeling for all its characters. … We heartedly recommend this book to Myaamia families.” —George Ironstrack, historian, Asst. Director, Myaamia Center (From the newspaper of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma)

Here, George Ironstrack gives more detailed information about the History behind SALT. Other information about the history of 1812 can also be found on this carefully researched website.

For a larger perspective, here is a map showing the loss of Native American land across the United States, over a period of about 100 years.

A longer description of the story (spoilers)

From the / Cooperative Children’s book Center in Madison, Wisconsin: “If we / sit down to eat with James / and his family, will he and I be able to play / a song together on our whistles? / That’s what he hopes for, / the question I see in his eyes: / Are you still my friend?” On the brink of the War of 1812, James is the child of white settlers who run the trading post outside Fort Wayne in Indian Territory and Anikwa is a boy living in the nearby Miami Nation village. The two communicate through gestures and a handful of words they’ve taught one another whenever they meet in the woods or at the trading post. James’s parents, especially his mother, view the people in the Miami village as friends. But the Miami are being encouraged by the British to take sides against the Americans in the pending war. Most people within the fort are now suspicious of their Miami neighbors. After Anikwa’s village is burned, the villagers must flee, heading west without winter stores in hopes of finding refuge with neighboring tribes. The trading post is also ravaged by fire. Poems in the two boys’ alternating voices chronicle how their tentative friendship is challenged by the rising tensions and fear that lead to assumptions and misunderstandings. Author Helen Frost also illuminates the complicated, untenable position in which Native tribes found themselves as American expansion continued west. The introduction to this artful and carefully researched novel provides historical context for the story, and brief notes tell more about the poetic forms she uses and this time and place in history. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Pronunciations of Myaamia (Miami) names in SALT

From the Online Myaamia Dictionary:

Neewe for visiting my website. (On this page, you can also hear how to say “Neewe, Niihka” or “Thank-you, friend.”)

You can hear pronunciations of other Miami (Myaamia) words by typing them into the search box on the Online Myaamia Dictionary.

Awards and Honors

  • Children’s History Book Prize , awarded by the New York Historical Society.
  • 2013 Nerdy Award Poetry winner
  • International Reading Association’s Special Interest Group:
  • 2014 Notable Books for a Global Society Award
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
  • New York Public Library: “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing”
  • CCBC Choices
  • Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List
  • New York Charlotte Award Master List
  • International Reading Association: Top Books of 2013
  • Booklist’s Top 30 Choices for the K-8 Classroom.
  • Kirkus Review’s “Best of 2013” list
  • “Great Lakes Great Reads” Summer 2013, Children’s and YA books
  • Anderson’s Bookshop’s Mock Newbery 2014 list
  • Allen County Public Library’s Mock Newbery 2014 list

Articles and Interviews

Reviews

  • Anita Silvey’s thoughtful and personal review on the Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac. Anita grew up in Fort Wayne, and describes how reading SALT helped her learn more about the history she was not taught as a child.
  • From a middle school reader: “I think that this book was the kind of book that is really short but it is written well enough that it seems a lot longer.”
  • Richie’s Picks: A review of SALT, along with two other verse novels.
  • Fuse # 8 SLJ blog

Quotes from Reviews

“Readers…will come away with a heightened sympathy for non-combatants caught up in the course of violent change.” — Wall Street Journal, July 20-21, 2013

“… Frost deftly tells the tale through each boy’s voice, employing distinct verse patterns to distinguish them yet imbuing both characters with the same degree of openness and introspection needed to tackle the hard issues of ethnocentrism and unbridled violence. Sensitive and smart: a poetic vista for historical insight as well as cultural awareness. (Verse novel. 10-14) STARRED” —Kirkus, June 1, 2013

“… Frost… has written, with artful economy, another affecting novel in verse…While acknowledging the uncertainties, misunderstandings, and occasional animosities of war, Frost also celebrates the relationship of both the Miami people and the Americans with the land and with each other. Explanatory notes and a glossary of Miami words are appended to this lovely evocation of a frontier America and the timelessness of friendship.” STARRED  —Michael Cart, Booklist

“Poignant and beautifully fashioned, this is a story that resonates far beyond the events it recounts.” —Joanne Rudge Long, Horn Book, July/August, 2013

“… The verse is succinct, yet beautiful, and the story is rich in historical and natural details. Fans of frontier and survival stories will find much to love within these pages.” —Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ, School Library Journal

“…Lyrical poems about salt, a traded commodity necessary to both cultures, are interspersed: “Tears come from earth and sky,/ from words moving through us./ We taste them as they fall,/ leaving salt streaks on our faces.” Author notes and a glossary of Miami words conclude a very personal account of history that offers much for discussion.” — Publishers Weekly

“SALT is a remarkable novel … an important novel for students to read and consider as they are learning about the War of 1812 in their social studies classes. The perspective of the boys helps bring personal meaning to a period of history that can be hard for students to grasp.”—Charla Hollingsworth, VOYA

Pronunciations of Myaamia (Miami) names in SALT

From the Online Myaamia Dictionary:

Neewe for visiting my website. (On this page, you can also hear how to say “Neewe, Niihka” or “Thank-you, friend.”)

You can hear pronunciations of other Miami (Myaamia) words by typing them into the search box on the Online Myaamia Dictionary.

Awards and Honors

  • Children’s History Book Prize , awarded by the New York Historical Society.
  • 2013 Nerdy Award Poetry winner
  • International Reading Association’s Special Interest Group:
  • 2014 Notable Books for a Global Society Award
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
  • New York Public Library: “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing”
  • CCBC Choices
  • Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List
  • New York Charlotte Award Master List
  • International Reading Association: Top Books of 2013
  • Booklist’s Top 30 Choices for the K-8 Classroom.
  • Kirkus Review’s “Best of 2013” list
  • “Great Lakes Great Reads” Summer 2013, Children’s and YA books
  • Anderson’s Bookshop’s Mock Newbery 2014 list
  • Allen County Public Library’s Mock Newbery 2014 list

Articles and Interviews

Reviews

  • Anita Silvey’s thoughtful and personal review on the Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac. Anita grew up in Fort Wayne, and describes how reading SALT helped her learn more about the history she was not taught as a child.
  • From a middle school reader: “I think that this book was the kind of book that is really short but it is written well enough that it seems a lot longer.”
  • Richie’s Picks: A review of SALT, along with two other verse novels.
  • Fuse # 8 SLJ blog