ROCK YOUR MOCS

A tribute to moccasins and the Indigenous kids who sport them.

It’s Rock Your Mocs Week! Children from tribes throughout Turtle Island don their moccasins with pride, celebrating their cultures and traditions as they dance, play, and attend school. The diversity of activities that the kids engage in makes it clear that mocs don’t need to be special-occasion footwear donned only for ceremony. With each page turn, readers learn more about the significance of mocs: They are works of art, repositories of cultural knowledge, and, above all, a way to “honor our deep-rooted traditions while adapting to our sacred present.” The book depicts a variety of moccasin styles and materials, worn by children from tribes throughout the United States and Canada. A pronunciation guide at the beginning of the story helps readers work out potentially unfamiliar words from different Indigenous languages. Both informative and inspiring, Goodluck’s (Mandan/Hidatsa) text is concise. The upbeat tone is echoed in Goodnight’s (Chickasaw Nation) bright illustrations, which feature people in urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. The children and adults are diverse in skin tone and hair texture. Backmatter explains the origins of Rock Your Mocs Day (and later Week) and discusses the cultural significance of moccasins. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Joyfully inspiring.