Draft:Ochek

The Barren Grounds is a middle grade fantasy book published by David A. Robertson. The book is about two foster kids who make a portal in their unfinished attic, through the portal is Misewa where they meet Ochek and other walking talking animals.

Ochek
Ochek is based off of the animal the fisher, adult fishers weigh an average of 3.8kg and are forest dwelling creatures, they are carnivorous and native to North America.

In the story Ochek is the youngest in Misewa, he is also the only hunter in Misewa and provides for the whole village. In the story there is a man who stole the summer birds which bring summer to the land but since he stole them they are stuck in an eternal winter. Ochek and the kids go on an adventure to take the summer birds and release them. The man has the summer birds in a shiny leather sack in his lake house. After Ochek took the sack the man got his bow and shot Ochek, Ochek's wound had to be treated but while it was being treated the man came and tried to shoot him again. Ochek took the sack of summer birds and climbed up a really tall tree and released the birds, while on top of the tree the man shot him again and fell off of the tree. Before he hit the ground a hand came out of the ground and caught him.

Ochekatchakosuk
The hand started to bring Ochek into the sky and then Ochek exploded into seven stars and became the constellation Ochekatchakosuk also known as The Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is always visible because it is circumpolar, The Big Dipper is shown on the Alaska flag, the constellation is shown on the flag because it represents the bear which are native to Alaska. There is also an ice cream shop called Big Dipper, they sell a variety of flavors and all their ice cream is homemade. The Big Dipper is 80 light years away from earth, near The Big Dipper is another constellation called the Little Dipper, the Little Dipper looks like a smaller version of The Big Dipper, the Little Dipper is 431 light years away from earth. In the book the constellation appears so that Ochek would be remembered for his sacrifice and all that he has done.