The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

"He would not have to bother any longer with a white boy who would never really be a mighty hunter."

This children's tale from 1983 sneakily drew me in. If you'd have told me a tale of a young settler in frontier America making friends with a local Indian tribe would have me hooked, I would probably have been quite incredulous. I'm rarely engaged by the western genre and yet this was delightful. Prepare yourself for a slim volume that convincingly transports you back in time, to the struggles of a young child awaiting the postponed arrival of his family and learning to survive in a challenging environment.

5 out of 5 - don't hunt near the sign of the beaver.