The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

This is the story of a young settler boy, Matt, who is left to guard his family's cabin while his dad goes to get his Mom and sister from their old house. While waiting for his family, Matt's life is saved by two Indians after he tries to steal honey from a bee's nest. Matt ends up with the task of teaching the grandson of the cheif, a boy about his age, to read. At first this boy, Attean, is unwilling to learn from Matt and they mutually dislike each other, but eventually trust and understanding builds between the two and they become friends.

This is a great story, it is easy to see why it won the Newbery Honor. Matt's story of getting to know Attean is cleverly echoed by the story of Robinson Crusoe, the book he is teaching Attean to read from. The twist is that instead of Robinson Crusoe teaching the savage, Attean is the one teaching Matt. Both Matt and the reader learn to develop respect for Attean and the ways of his people... a very important lesson is learned when Matt realizes he has always been brought up to see Indians as ignorant but perhaps he is the one who should be learning from them after all. Another great thing about this book is that it is meaningful and emotional without being unrealistic. There is plenty of misfortune and mistrust in the story... which makes it much more gratifying when Matt and Attean finally do become friends.