The Arrow Over the Door

by Joseph Bruchac
Available from Amazon
***

Samuel Russell was a young Quaker boy, who thought it would be better if his family wasn’t nonresistant. He thought he should be able to protect his family if the British came, or, more realistically, the Indians attacked. It was also hard for him to endure the taunting of the patriotic neighbors, especially as he did wish to join them.

Stands Straight was an Abenaki who was concerned about fighting for the British, a concern shared by others in his family. They decided to surround a meeting of the Americans they are supposed to be fighting, and judge from their response whether they are hostile or not.

Chapters alternate between the two boys until they meet inside the Quaker meetinghouse. The arrow over the door was a sign of friendship and protection from the Abenakis to the Quakers. This book is based on a true incident during the War for Independence, and is one of the many stories in Quaker history. Quaker ideas are incorporated, as is the history known of the Abenakis.

The book is written on a level for 9 – 12 year olds, although younger children would easily follow the story if read aloud. Some of the attitudes Samuel demonstrates are not the best, but in the end he came to see that his father was right in his nonresistance. I would recommend the book for learning about these two people groups in this time period, as I have not seen much about them; also as it is a retelling of history, not pure fiction.