Muskrat Will Be Swimming is a 32-page picture book about a contemporary Native American girl who learns to be proud of her ancestry and understands the power of name-calling and teasing. Jeannie loves living beside a lake where muskrats live but her fellow classmates from the affluent part of town call her names and bully her. Being called Lake Rat makes Jeannie sad but wise grandfather tells her the Seneca Creation story about Skywoman being assisted by birds and animals. In the story the muskrat is responsible for bring up earth in its tiny paws from the deep water. This small clump of earth grows in size as Skywoman walks about on Turtle's Back. This creates Turtle Island now called North America. Author Cheryl Savageau is of Abenaki and French Canadian heritage and grew up in a Massachusetts lakeside community much like the one described in this book. This makes an excellent source for introducing the topic of teasing, bullying, and stereotypes in the junior classroom. The soft coloured illustrations by Robert Hynes capture the essence of the lake environment and the role of muskrats in creation. Lexile: 750L; ATOS Reading Level: 4; Reading Level: 4.5
