THE LITTLE PEOPLE

More creatures from First Nations folklore greet young Thomas and Lily on their third visit to their grandparents’ cabin in the Canadian Rockies (The Story of Kalkalilh, 2013, etc.).

The story follows an elaborately produced set of dissolves that take the children from city to forest. While her Mooshum and Kookum are out catching salmon, Lily meets a strange, noseless little man who capers about the kitchen, spills Kookum’s flour and disappears. Then, trying to gather soapberries for ice cream, Thomas is pelted with berries. But when Lily trips over a root, two of the little people step from the bushes to patch her ankle, and later the children find full buckets of berries waiting for them on the cabin steps. These were Maymaygwaysiwak, Kookum later explains, mischievous but also sometimes-helpful imps who dwell underground. In the cartoon illustrations, dolllike figures bob and giggle when tapped. Swiping a ribbon at the bottom changes the scene and the simply phrased narrative. The visible text and optional audio can be set to any of four languages, including Cree, on a menu that also includes a thumbnail index. Tapping the occasional red word opens a window containing the Cree equivalent (voiced, though sometimes the narrator pronounces a different word) and a note about characters or cultural practices and artifacts.

A cozy, humorous change of pace from previous (mildly) scary encounters.