A joyful story that encourages empathy and affirms identity.
Hilderman (Métis Nation of Alberta) proudly pays tribute to her heritage in this heartwarming story that invites readers to embrace their own roots.
The book starts with a simple question: “Are you Métis like me?” An accompanying illustration depicts children of diverse skin tones romping through a meadow. The young people answer the question in their own ways, each revealing a Métis custom they practice at home with their extended families. Each scene seamlessly transitions to the next. On one spread, a child sews beads onto moccasins with Noohkom (Michif for Grandma), while on the following spread, another child chimes in, “I have moccasins, too!” We see families handing down other traditions, from picking saskatoon berries to making bannock to fishing. The author also introduces a Métis child who’s unfamiliar with these customs but who’s welcomed into the fold: “It is never too late. You can learn now!” Hilderman emphasizes the importance of sharing intergenerational knowledge with family and friends. Hugo’s artwork is vibrant and intricate, the use of colored pencil lending the visuals a sense of intimacy. Beaded designs and floral motifs appear throughout, making it clear that the characters are immersed in nature. An author’s note explains that Métis, French for mixed, refers to those descended from First Nation women and European fur traders.
A joyful story that encourages empathy and affirms identity. (recipe for bannock/gaalet, English–Michif glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781774881125
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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