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November 2022: Autumn Scavenger Hunt
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I can already add In November which I read recently, but I have be honest; I only gave it two stars. Therefore I will not bother putting my review here.
I look forward to seeing what else I can find for all the topics!
I'm looking forward to reading Leaves:
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
The Fall Gathering: Woodland Adventures by Rita T. Kohn (might also be harvest / Native American)
In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
What's in Your Pocket?: Collecting Nature's Treasures by Heather L. Montgomery (maybe not completely within the theme, but it reminds me so much of the kids I work with, so I have to share)
M Is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds
Leaf Trouble by Jonathan EmmettThanks in title:
Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes
Thank You, Omu! by Oge MoraNative American:
Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids (Winnebago)
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga and
We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell (Cherokee)
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (Anishinabe/Metis)
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole)
When the Moon Is Full by Penny Pollock (Wyandotte, though her claims to this tribe may be misleading)Preparing for winter:
Winter Is Here by Kevin HenkesSquirrels by John Feílin https://www.amazon.com/Squirrels-Foll... (posting Amazon link because the book isn't on Goodreads)
Harvest:
If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving by Chris Newell
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Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert [book:The Fall Gatheri..."I am actually going to be featuring a few of these books, and you are in for a treat.
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While I absolutely and with all my heart do love the imaginative and oh so evocative autumnally colour schemed leaf illustrations of Lois Ehlert's Leaf Man (and considering that Halloween will soon be upon us, I actually have also quite enjoyed that some of the depicted and presented leaf people and animals even kind of look delightfully and mildly creepy, not enough to in any manner ever frighten, but definitely sufficient to potentially give a few mild shivers and frissons), I really can only be positive and lauding with regard to Lois Ehlert's pictorial renderings. For the accompanying text of Leaf Man is not only rather thin and sparse with regard to information and detail, the entire sequence is also penned in such a tediously monotonous, choppy and at times annoyingly, unnecessarily repetitive style of expression that I actually have ended up focussing on only the illustration and trying my hardest to completely, to actually ignore the author's, Lois Ehlert's printed words, as they are and remain totally and utterly not to my taste, completely empty of what I would consider substance and form and are actually in my opinion even a bit of a potential burden to and for the truly spectacular fall-time leaf illustrations (pictures that are an absolutely spectacular aesthetic delight, with subtle coulors and shapes that just so totally and completely celebrate and commemorate the glory of autumn and the changing colours of deciduous tree leaves, or rather, this would be the case if the text, if the accompanying narrative were a bit more substantial and equally descriptive and evocative, if Lois Ehlert's presented and featured narrative were actually a celebration and adequate mirror of her illustrations). And thus, although if I were to just consider Leaf Man with regard to the illustrations, I would indeed and without question be rankling this book with a solid five stars, the at best totally lacklustre and colourless, overly sparse and tedious text, this does indeed leave very much to be desired to and for me, and makes me (although with a bit of guilt) only consider a three star maximum ranking for Leaf Man (and really, Lois Ehlert should in my opinion have considered just making her Leaf Man a wordless picture book, as her illustrations do certainly in every way capture my fancy, my imagination, and caress my sense of the aesthetics of autumn in a manner that her text has not and simply, utterly cannot, as sorry, but compared to the illustrations, the accompanying text of Leaf Man really is rather a pale nonentity at best).
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On the Trapline is indeed both beautiful and also very much enlightening. But yes, there is also a sufficiently gentle but at the same time quite persistent feeling of pain and sadness to be encountered in author David A. Robertson's featured text. For while a sizeable majority of On the Trapline definitely and delightfully demonstrates how a young Swampy Cree boy through his Moshom's, through his grandfather's words and remembrances explains what living on the trapline signifies and that this is also NOT EVER to be deemed as indiscriminate and irresponsible hunting, but rather living off the land sustainably and with environmental responsibility, there is also and nevertheless a very large and all encompassing feeling of textual regret for a bygone era shown shown by David A. Robertson in On the Trapline and that indeed for many contemporary First Nations children (and adults) the concepts of sustainable hunting on the trapline, of living off the land in large family groups are sadly often as alien and as totally unknown as they are to and for many if not most non First Nations individuals (with David A. Robertson using a gentle, subtle but still deeply emotional narration imbued with many explained in context examples of Swampy Cree words for On the Trapline, showing not only the beauty and the natural sustainability of life on the trapline but also how this all was rather wrested away from the Swampy Cree and other First Nations by misguided and generally also deeply traumatic and abusive non First Nations, in other words White educational cocepts and philosophies). And yes, the above is something that David A. Robertson' Author's Note for On the Trapline also once again and strongly reiterates, and that for Robertson, reconciliation thus also means getting reconnected, that both First Nations and non First Nations people need to collectively acknowledge and celebrate the many Native Canadian and American cultural traditions (including hunting for sustenance and for basic food needs) that were often rather ruthlessly taken away through the misguided and horrid bigotry that generally was First Nations education, where traditional ways of life and hunting practices (and of course also the various tribal languages) were much too often and regularly considered unacceptable and sometimes even as downright evil. Now with regard to Julie Flett's accompanying artwork for On the Trapline, like usual for me, I most definitely do find Flett's collage like pictures a delightful visual treat and also a both realistic and at the same time equally a powerfully wonderful and imaginative aesthetic mirror of and for David A. Robertson's printed words for On the Trapline and with me in particular appreciating that Julie Flett makes her First Nations men, women and children not appear as exotic and as somehow being "the other" but simply as human beings going about their daily routines (from story telling to hunting and fishing) and that certainly for me and in my humble opinion, the combination of text and images for On the Trapline is therefore a shining five stars.
(First Nations author, Métis illustrator)
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This picture book biography of Tisquantum (Squanto) by renowned Native American children's author Joseph Bruchac presents the fascinating, often tragic and heartbreaking story of Squanto's abduction and subsequent enslavement in Spain, his long journey back from Europe to North America, only to find that his people, the Patuxet, had been decimated by sickness, to finally, presenting his essential and historic role in helping the Plymouth Colony settlers survive in the so-called New World (what to plant, how to plant, Squanto's role as peacemaker and interpreter). But while I most certainly have much enjoyed reading Squanto's Journey, I do have to wonder how well it actually works as a picture book (and for the so called picture book crowd, how well it is suited for younger children). For the author's, for Joseph Bruchac's presented narrative is quite dense and involved, and while the glossary at the back is indeed most appreciated, in my opinion, it would have been much better and more useful to have the terms from the glossary also explained within the text proper, perhaps with footnotes (otherwise, one might well have to keep flipping back and forth, which can be distracting, and the text of Squanto's Journey already somewhat has that tendency anyway). And although the first person narrative of Squantos Journey is indeed informative and generally reads flowingly, engagingly, poetically enough, there is also and unfortunately somewhat of a lack of personal emotional immediacy and passion present (almost a feeling as though Squanto is not simply relating his story, but is actually presenting more a philosophical lecture, a declamatory sermon or homily of sorts). And this lack of emotionality, combined with a kind of iconic grandioseness is then also equally rather demonstrated and shown by Greg Shed's accompanying illustrations. For while they are lushly descriptive and amply authentic seeming (and indeed very much adeptly rendered), they also do somewhat have the tendency to be a bit overly romanticising (for when I reread Squanto's Journey just now, I did and do notice that many of the depictions of Native Americans, but of Squanto in particular, are somehow glowing and inherently shining, that there is almost an aura of strangely religious spirituality depicted). Now I do very much appreciate the fact that with Squanto's Journey both author and illustrator, that both Joseph Bruchac and Greg Shed, have obviously done a substantial amount of research, and I for one (even with the potential issues mentioned above) have indeed and massively enjoyed both narrative and author's note, as well as Shed's accompanying pictorial renderings (and actually, if truth be told, I have in fact enjoyed and continue to appreciate Bruchac's author's note considerably more than the text itself, more than the narrative of Squanto's Journey). However and that all having been said, Bruchac really and truly also should have included a list of works cited, of works he consulted for research purposes (a bibliography). And perhaps even more importantly, the author's note should also and absolutely have mentioned that Tisquantum is and continues to be very much a controversial figure for many Native Americans (he is actually considered somewhat of a traitor by some, if not even many Native Americans and while I do NOT think this information should have necessarily been included within the text of Squanto's Journey, it is nevertheless an important and essential piece of information that really should have been part and parcel to Bruchac's otherwise excellent and informative author's note). Recommended for older children above the ages of nine or even ten, as the narrative is substantial, dense, with much potentially novel vocabulary, not to mention that Squanto's Journey will also likely, and actually should (must) engender questions, discussions, debates and additional research (and Squanto's Journey would also be a good and essential teaching resource for a unit on Thanksgiving or Native American history, yet another reason why I strongly do think a bibliography should have been included, as it would have very much increased the book's teaching, learning and supplemental research value).
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This wonderfully informative picture book about a Native American "Fall Gathering" (Woodland Peoples of the Great Lakes region) is actually first and foremost a counting book. A winning teaching resource for young children, Rita T. Kohn's The Fall Gathering can be used both at home and in a Kindergarten, pre-school or first grade classroom, not only to teach about quantities, but also as an introduction to Native American harvest culture and traditions. As the book is primarily a counting book, numbers and quantities do of course feature somewhat more prominently than narrative. There is, however, enough of a textual frame, and both it and the excellent illustrations can easily be used to expand the content and context of The Fall Gathering. The accompanying illustrations are a really treasure. They are bright, evocative and very respectful of Native Americans, showing them not as "the Other" but as ordinary persons gathering together for a harvest celebration; they have come to share the harvest, and to give thanks for the bounties received. I believe that many if not most young children would enjoy both the narrative, the text of of The Fall Gathering and the accompanying illustrations. There is so much to be discovered and discussed, like how many of the vegetables featured in the book are American in origin and were actually originally domesticated by Native Americans, like squash and corn, for example. And there is in truth actually much more that I could write about the illustrations, but I would be giving away too much information (too many so-called spoilers), and The Fall Gathering really does need to be experienced first-hand. The author's notes at the end of the book, which discuss the history of the Woodland Peoples, and the tradition of the "Fall Gathering" as well as the recipe pages that follow are both informative and much enlightening (and it would perhaps be fun to communally make some of the featured recipes at a school or Kindergarten harvest festival). Personally, I also appreciate the fact that the author does not shy away from mentioning the fact that the Woodland Peoples, although they had signed treaties with the British, giving them the right to live peacefully in the Great Lakes region, had their lands taken by the government of the United States of America, who with cowardice, avarice and callousness refused to honour these same treaties. This is, indeed, a wonderful counting book, and I would recommend The Fall Gathering to anyone interested in books for young children featuring Native American harvest traditions.
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Red Leaf, Yellow LeafWhile I certainly do much enjoy the bright and expressive collage like illustrations of Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (and especially of the woodpeckers which just happen to also be amongst my favourite bird species), I personally think that it would have been better and more successful for author and illustrator Lois Ehlert to have either penned a non-fiction book about sugar maples (and woodpeckers) or recounted a fictional tree-based narrative, as the combination of fiction/non-fiction in Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf is in my opinion not executed all that well, has not been rendered all that successfully (and actually even tends to feel rather disjointed and uneven, with the fiction part of Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf more suitable for younger children and the non fiction part definitely more suitable for older children, and perhaps even younger teenagers). Now Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf is definitely informative and still a worthwhile read for (or with) children interested in trees and ecology (and I do much appreciate the included recipe for the bird treat and have, in fact, made it on occasion for the many downy and pileated woodpeckers on my property). However, I really do not find the story part of the presented narrative all that engaging, and really, rather flat and majorly uninspiring (or at least, it feels that way for me and to me). Nevertheless, somewhat recommended, but only in a rather limited fashion (as for me, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf is really and truly just a very basically adequate two star read, and not all that special and spectacular by any and all stretches of my imagination).
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Truth be told and in my opinion, the best part of Eden Ross Lipson's Applesauce Season has most definitely been the included recipe for homemade applesauce and indeed the realisation that by using different types of apples, one can create a multitude of different flavours and even varying colours (although I do not think that I would ever consider adding butter to any applesauce I made). For yes and a trifle unfortunately, the story itself, the specific content as it is presented by the author, by Eden Ross Lipson in Applesauce Seasons, well to and for me, it does seem to feel just a bit too flat and explanatory, too much showing rather than telling (and as such also rather on the surface and lacking in emotion, although that yes, I do certainly much appreciate how in Applesauce Season, even though the father does not help with the making of the applesauce itself, he is still always busy in the kitchen cooking and baking roasts, potato pancakes, crepes (all of which will then of course be topped with and by the family's homemade applesauce). Combined with the fact that although I have certainly found Mordicai Gerstein's accompanying artwork whilst definitely delightfully bright also often a bit overly garish colour-scheme wise with regard to in particular the young boy narrator and his family (and with the similar eyeglasses making the grandmother, the father and especially the little boy kind of reminding me in a strange manner of Harry Potter, which although more than likely not intentional, I have certainly found rather aesthetically off-putting to an extent), I really cannot consider more than a low three star ranking for Applesauce Season, as albeit that the combination of Eden Ross Lipson's narrative and Mordicai Gerstein's pictures is generally sweet and evocative enough, it has also not really wowed me, not really made me consider Applesauce Season as all that truly magical.
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As a basic and for the most part engagingly enough recounted introduction to autumn as a season, to global harvest time celebrations and festivals both then and now, Wendy Pfeffer's We Gather Together has proven both basically enjoyable and enlightening (and I do very much appreciate that the author also makes a point depicting and describing how in the past, we had to generally rely on the produce harvested in late summer/fall and then stored, cellared, canned to help us survive through the cold and barren winter months, today, especially in highly developed areas of the world such as Western Europe and much of North America, come winter, we just import fresh fruit and vegetables from areas that do not have auch frigid winters or even from the Southern Hemisphere, where it is summer when in the Northern Hemisphere, it is wintertime, it is cold, snowy and dark). However, and that all being said, while the presented narrative, while the text of We Gather Together is indeed very much enlightening, interesting and seems well enough researched for what it is supposed to be (a general and basic introduction to autumn and fall harvest celebrations for older children), I for one also feel that there are some rather frustrating and academically problematic, suspect and major informational gaps present, and this especially with regard to the featured and described global harvesting celebrations. For while the harvest celebrations Wendy Pfeffer does present and depict in We Gather Together, auch as the Jewish festival of Sukkot, the Hindu festival of Pongal, old English harvest traditions and the traditional and ubiquitous US American Thanksgiving celebration are indeed detailed and to and for me sufficiently complete, why are for example NONE of the many Native American/Native Canadian late summer and early fall thanksgiving and harvesting celebrations given a similarly detailed place and textual analysis in We Gather Together? For while I guess from a staunchly Christian point of view, most if not even all of the Native American/Canadian harvest festivals celebrating wild rice, corn, gods and goddesses might be a bit too "pagan" for some, the fact remains and absolutely should be mentioned within the text proper of We Gather Together that the Aboriginal populations of Canada and the USA were celebrating the harvest, were engaging in festivals of thanksgiving long long before being colonised by Europeans, and that therefore really, even the concept of a "first" American Thanksgiving in 1621 is at best rather a misnomer (not to mention that even the British harvest traditions of corn dollies shown and explained in We Gather Together are a bit misleading, as this is NOT ONLY a United Kingdom, but really and truly a pan-European harvest concept, something that the author, that Wendy Pfeffer most certainly, most definitely should be mentioning, as well as pointing out that European harvest tradtions, and some of these most definitely have old and decidedly pre-Christian roots, were then transported to North America by colonists, by immigrants, even by the so-called Puritans). And yes indeed, I do in fact realise that Wendy Pfeffer briefly mentions and point out a number of other world traditions (including some Native American harvest celebrations) in her supplemental materials (as she has an activity based on researching and then writing about eleven harvest festivals not mentioned within the main text of We Gather Together). However, I for one do not really consider that even remotely sufficient, especially since the suggestions for further reading, whilst appreciated, are also not too many in number (and thus a bit too few and lacking for the kind of research required). Two and a half stars, rounded down to two stars, as alongside of the for and to me annoying and also problematic textual gaps of presented details and knowledge, I also have found Linda Bleck's accompanying illustrations, while certainly bright and expressive, much too childish and cartoon like for my aesthetic tastes (and also a tad unsuitable age wise for a non fiction tome of information geared primarily to older children, and perhaps even young teenagers, as the narrative of We Gather Together, as Wendy Pfeffer's printed words are definitely a bit too advanced to and for children below the age of seven, especially if they are reading independently).
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Although I do appreciate the hard core and realistic factual information presented in A Warm Winter Tail (how eleven different animal species survive the winter months and then as an add on how humans bundle up in the winter with warm clothing), personally I really have found author Carrie A. Pearson’s poetry, her method of textual expression awkward at best. For yes, I have certainly found it annoyingly frustrating to have each animal species introduced by the exact same refrain of “how do humans keep warm in the winter, Mama?” as for me, reading this eleven times in a row really does rapidly become dragging and monotonous (not to mention that in the winter, there would hardly be any baby animals around anymore, as animals usually give birth in the spring and early summer and therefore they would of course no longer be newly born or even just a month or so of age in the winter, when Carrie A. Pearson is having her animal babies ask their question). And while I do applaud that the For Creative Minds Section of supplemental information and activities can be legally photocopied for educational and in-class use (but that really, there still should also be a list of book titles and perhaps websites included for further reading and study), I really cannot say that I have at all enjoyed the text proper of A Warm Winter Tail, I cannot say that Carrie A. Pearson’s poetic narrative has at all felt readable and engaging. And yes, the only reason I am still considering a very low and grudging three star rating for A Warm Winter Tail is that I do to an extent appreciate the facts presented and that on an entirely visual and aesthetic level, Christina Wald’s accompanying artwork is absolutely gorgeous, with realistically warm and authentic feeling animal pictures as well as snowscapes that are a visual delight (but indeed, it is really only Wald’s illustrations I have found enjoyable without reservations, as for and to me, Pearson’s text, her awkward and draggingly repetitive poetry leaves very very much to be desired).
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Expressive and evocative, displaying a soothing lullaby-like cadence and rhythm (and descriptive words both lyrical and poetic without rhyming), with Sleep Tight Farm, author Eugenie Doyle (who actually lives on a working farm) caressingly and lovingly presents how a family basically "puts the farm to bed" (in other words, how everyone prepares it for winter, with chores, with activities such as harvesting and storing fruits and vegetables, shaking insulating straw over berries, covering salad, tomato and melon plants with a hoop-house to protect them from snow and ice, insulating and fluffing up the nests in the chicken coop to make the laying hens comfortable and warm for the winter, building natural windbreaks out of hay bales for the otherwise too much exposed beehives). I especially like how the unnamed narrator (who appears to be a child of about ten years or so) is always grateful for the bounty the family has been able to harvest, for the produce that sustains both the farm and the family (thanking both fields and animals, chickens and bees, realising that humans are not simply there to make use of the earth, that we should and must also show appreciation and recognition, and that protecting the fields from winter's chill, replenishing the soil by tilling it, ploughing and loosening it, making sure farm animals are snug and well fed during the winter, is not only important for the farm as an enterprise, but above all, shows both gratitude and understanding). Now for those of you who are vegans or vegetarians, while the presented farm is thus definitely one that also has animals present (there is a single horse depicted, as well as the already mentioned chickens and bees, as well, of course, the obligatory barn cats and a dog), in my opinion, this is in no way a factory type farm, as the majority of the products being raised for market (and even for home consumption) seem to be plant based. Yes, a chicken coop is featured, but it is also clearly shown that there is a large yard for the chickens, that both the hens and the rooster reside together, and that there are definitely NO battery type chicken nests. And while the family did harvest both honey and wax in September, the narrator makes a point that they actually left more than enough for the bees who "made enough for us." Also, the family farmstand shows that aside from some eggs and honey, ALL other products being sold are fruit and vegetables (even the meals described by the narrator, the homegrown treats, are vegetable soup and berry pies). There are thus most definitely NO large scale animal operations either depicted or described in Sleep Tight Farm (no large scale dairy operation, no animals raised for their flesh, and their chickens number about twelve at the absolute most). Becca Stadtlander's accompanying illustrations have a quaint and wonderfully realistic folk art feel to them. With a colour scheme that clearly and expressively presents the change of season from autumn to winter, her pictures provide both a successful and enchanting compliment to Eugenie Doyle's poetic narrative (and the illustrations actually often even expand on it, presenting images not found in the text, or rather merely hinted at in and by the text). Very highly recommended not only for pleasure reading, but also and perhaps even more importantly, Sleep Tight Farm is a gentle and informative introduction to farming, and specifically to what an ecological and ethically run family type farm (at least in my humble opinion) can and should be. And frankly, I think this would be a great addition to a unit on farming in a kindergarten, preschool or grade one, perhaps even up to grade two classroom!
I See A Leaf by Grace Maccarone - My kids at work love this one.I See A Leaf is another of the early readers I either "rescued" from a teacher's giveaway or bought because it looked cute, I can't remember.
The story is simple: three friends see fall leaves while walking to school and want to bring them as gifts to their teacher. But Jack wants to go a little further than Jill or Kate...
The illustrations are vibrant and also diverse, and this is a good book most kids can understand through reading the pictures on their own as well as the words with assistance from a stronger reader. My kids enjoy the twist at the end and seeing what Jack decides to do with the leaves, as well as the teacher's reaction.
I also appreciate that the teacher in the illustrations is a black woman. I feel like diversity in teachers is not something you often see in children's literature, and I love the depiction here.
This one is great for preschool or primary students who are learning to read because it is decodable and has good accompanying illustrations. Late first grade or second grade is where I would expect students to be able to read all the words on their own, but I would definitely implement this one earlier either way.
Manybooks wrote: "Celia wrote: "I'm looking forward to reading Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert"Ooh exciting. I had these first two featured for my fall/Halloween shelves in the curriculum library and I'm looking forward to reading them, especially
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Nov 02, 2022 03:27PM)
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I did make my first foray today. I will have to use a resource and order books by "Native Americans."
But so far I found for Harvest:
Honey Harvest
Harvesting Friends/Cosechando Amigos
And for Thanks I found:
Thank You, Octopus
Thanks for the Feedback, I Think
Thank You, Neighbor!
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Animals Migrating (part of World Books' Animals at Work series)
Migration by Gail Gibbons
Migration: Incredible Animal Journeys
North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration
I also chose two complementary "Blast Off Readers" that I assume will touch on some sort of hibernation or wintering behavior, because I want to directly compare these similar-looking critters:
Porcupines
Hedgehogs
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Fall by Mari Schuh
A Walk in the Forest
Sneeze, Big Bear, Sneeze!
Imelda & the Goblin King
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AutumnDutch picture-book artist Gerda Muller’s majorly and sweetly charming wordless tale is devoted (as the title naturally and obviously already suggests) to Autumn (and there are in fact three other such board books, representing Spring, Summer and Winter respectively). And Gerda Muller’s artwork in Autmn, it almost exclusively seems to focus mainly 0n young children happily and enthusiastically engaging in a variety of diverse fun, games and Fall based activities, both outside and inside, both during clear and sunny weather and also when it is stormy and raining, and with many of the depicted arts and crafts activities encountered in Autumn (including constructing and then flying a kite) actually also feeling more than a bit sweetly nostalgic for and to me. For indeed, I do well remember and recall many similar such scenarios as a child, before our family moved from Germany to Canada in 1976, which in my humble opinion equally also tends to make Autumn decidedly Western European and thus not so much Canadian and American in scope (and which is in all likelihood also the main reason why there are neither Halloween nor Thanksgiving scenes depicted by Gerda Muller in Autumn and why brightly red and orange coloured Fall leaves are not quite as intensely presented and not as omnipresent as they probably would be in an Autumn themed and based picture book set not in Western Europe but in North America). Now while I usually do generally very much prefer textual over wordless picture books, well, Gerda Muller’s illustrations for Autumn, they really do not at all require an accompanying verbal narrative, since they in my humble opinion clearly and visually demonstrate what Autumn, what Fall is all about. But albeit I totally think and believe that with Autumn , Gerda Muller has illustratively created a true and aesthetically delightful seasonal celebration, I still and nevertheless do have to point out that there is a pretty obvious lack of ethnic diversity present in Autumn, something that I might not on a personal level consider huge or majorly problematic, although if I were for example considering a wordless seasonal picture book to introduce Autumn to a group of ethnically diverse youngsters, I would most probably consider a less one-sidedly Caucasian tome (and that I therefore also only choose to recommend Autumn with a few reservations and caveats).
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Looking for Loons
A sweet and evocative paean to autumn, to nature observation, to family vacation mornings at a Canadian (and from the accompanying illustrations probably Ontarian) lakeside cottage (looking for loons, waiting for loons to appear), while there is not much if any narrative tension (and thus not much of a plot, not much of an actual storyline), Jennifer Lloyd's Looking for Loons does not in fact even really require this (as her narrative is simply and tenderly a loving and moving family portrait, a tableau gloriously presenting that even when, even once breakfast is ready, young Patrick delays joining his family until his searched for, his anticipated loons have, in fact, arrived). Perfect for sharing with a child on a lazy day at the family cottage (well actually, anywhere, everywhere), Looking for Loons celebrates both family and nature, and how Patrick's insistence on quietly waiting for the loons to arrive, does in fact and finally pay off (that patience, especially when engaging in animal observation, is both a virtue and often really and truly a requirement). I do have to admit that I am rather a bit disappointed with regard to at least some of Kirsti Ann Wakelin's accompanying illustrations for Looking for Loons. While her renditions and depictions of the natural environment surrounding the family's cottage are breathtaking and descriptively realistic (especially Wakelin’s animal drawings from squirrels to the very many depicted bird species, culminating of course in the family of loons), the human figures seem rather bland and palely drawn by comparison (and so much so that I find both Patrick and his little sister Emily almost sickly looking in appearance). But even more problematic is the fact that there is (at least in my opinion) at times a bit of a visual disconnection between Jennifer Lloyd's text for Looking for Loons and Kirsti Anne Wakelin's accompanying pictorial offerings (not often, but still enough for me to have noticed). For example, when Patrick and Emily go out to the porch to look for loons, while the text states that the grandmother comes out with them and Emily climbs into her lap, the illustrations do NOT in fact show this, instead depicting both Emily and Patrick seated on two Muskoka deck chairs with the grandmother standing behind them (not a huge issue by any stretch of the imagination, but it did kind of make me blink in and with surprise and a bit of annoyance). Still, Looking for Loons is to be highly recommended, my minor little issues with Kirsti Ann Wakelin’s illustrations notwithstanding (and the animals depicted are indeed outstandingly rendered and in all ways aesthetically marvellous).
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Wonderfully informative and as such indeed a very thorough and enlightening general introduction to animal hibernation (covering many essential topics such as why and how some if not many animal species need to hibernate in the winter months, in cold weather, the way they prepare for hibernation, the differences between true hibernators and so-called deep sleepers and also briefly touching on aestivation, as well as pointing out a few animals that every day experience regular instances of torpor in order to save energy), if I were simply to consider Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions for Pamela Hickman’s presented narrative, for the factual, scientific information that she both informatively and engagingly (but never monotonously) has presented to her readers (older children from about the age of eight onwards, although even adults might well find Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions interesting and educational), I would definitely be ranking this book with a solid four stars (for an in all ways enlightening and interestingly penned text accompanied by colourful yet realistic, almost photo quality illustrations). However, as much as I have indeed enjoyed reading Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions and have found the combination of Pamela Hickman’s printed words and Pat Stephen’s pictures both textually and visually successful and educational, I really do have no choice in my opinion but to lower my general star ranking to but three stars for Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions. For considering that Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions is a one hundred percent non fiction and hard core science book, the lack of a bibliography, the fact that Pamela Hickson does neither acknowledge her sources nor present any suggested book titles for further reading and study is to and for me something that I cannot ignore and cannot really excuse either, and yes, this is also an academic shortcoming that to and for me certainly does to a point rather reduce the teaching and learning value of Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions as a whole and in particular with regard to supplemental research, which is really kind of totally nonexistent if there is no biographical information included.
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Although in Winter Lullaby Barbara Seuling's narrative does indeed clearly point out (or at least attempt to point out) how a number of animal species react to and deal with the winter months, personally I have found her printed words much too simplistic and therefore just barely scratching the surface so to speak for most if not all of the presented and featured animal species (and yes, this even considering the intended audience of very young children). For while for example it is certainly correct that bees stay in their hives until spring comes again and that snakes retreat into dens, I do find it kind of strange that while snakes and bees definitely do actively hibernate in the winter, that this is then not really ever specifically verbally mentioned by the author, by Barbara Seuling, in (as the only specific textual description of animals actually and actively sleeping the entire winter away is in my opinion bats and perhaps the illustration of the two mice resting in the hayloft, although truth be told, many species of mice actually do NOT hibernate in the winter, that some mice are often even quite active in winter). Combined with the fact that Barbara Seuling should (in my opinion) also be mentioning that increasingly, ducks (and many erstwhile migrating birds) do in fact not tend to fly south as much anymore but actually often overwinter in their summer areas due to (likely) global warming trends, and yes indeed, that I also really have not found Greg Newbold's accompanying artwork all that visually pleasant (with especially his human figures appearing as too stagnant and even his snowscapes as not really three but generally rather annoyingly one-dimensional), I really cannot claim that I have found Winter Lullaby all that successful a marriage of text and images (not terrible, not uninformative, but bit lacking in what I would consider required factual information and with pictures that have just been to and for my personal aesthetics too lacking in emotion and as such disappointingly stagnant). And yes and finally, I also have found the title of this book, Winter Lullaby, more than a bit misleading, as for one Barbara Seuling's text does not (at least to and for my ears) read anything like a typical lullaby, and that for two, basically only some of the presented and featured animals do in fact spend their entire winter sleeping (as for example most birds and fish certainly do not snooze away the winter months).
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Although Barbara Greenwood's A Pioneer Thanksgiving: A Story of Harvest Celebrations in 1841 describes 1841 harvest celebrations in what is now the province of Ontario (then of course still known as Upper Canada), the information, the storyline presented could just as easily have taken place in the northeastern areas of the United States, and thus A Pioneer Thanksgiving: A Story of Harvest Celebrations in 1841 could and perhaps should be used interchangeably with regard to either Canadian or American Thanksgiving (or perhaps more to the point harvest) traditions. With the same combination of fiction/non-fiction that has made made and continues to make the author's A Pioneer Story: The Daily Life of a Canadian Family in 1840 such an informative and engaging reading pleasure (accompanied once again by Heather Collins' warm and detailed sepia illustrations, and interspersed with Thanksgiving holiday themed acitivities and projects throughout), Barabara Greenwood tells of the Robertsons's preparations for the Thanksgiving feast (engagingly and informatively, from Sarah's fear when little sister Lizzie almost drowns in the bog while they are collecting cranberries, to the final scene, where the Robertsons and their German Canadian neighbours, the Burkholders, finally sit down at the table, a table literally groaning with delicious food, including Sarah's special cranberry sauce). A sweet, engaging, informative story for both young and old (and while there might be a bit too much text to recommend this book to the very young, if some or even most of the non-fiction parts were left out, or simply redacted a bit, A Pioneer Thanksgiving: A Story of Harvest Celebrations in 1841 could easily work as a read aloud even with and for younger children). The historical information presented in and by A Pioneer Thanksgiving: A Story of Harvest Celebrations in 1841 seems for the most part to be accurate (and I have to stipulate that it "seems" historically accurate because, once again, there is no bibliography, no list of works cited, which, at least in my opinion, rather limits the teaching amd learning value of A Pioneer Thanksgiving: A Story of Harvest Celebrations in 1841). And while I do very much appreciate that Barbara Greenwood has remembered to point out that First Nations, that Native Americans and Canadians had and still have their own diverse autmnal celebrations (the sacred wild rice harvest of the Ojibwa in late August, the Iroquois Green Corn Festival in September, and the October days of thanksgiving to mark the gathering in of the harvest are described, including some of the counting/dicing games played during these festivals), I also have to wonder and question why the author, in her section on Thanksgiving Then and Now, while describing harvest festival traditions of Europe, the 1578 Labrador celebration of Martin Frobisher and the 1621 Plymouth Colony so-called "first" American Thanksgiving, has then failed to mention the 1606 French Canadian harvest celebrations held by Jacques Cartier, to which he also invited his First Nations neighbours. Was this a deliberate oversight, or simply an unfortunate omission? And indeed, that is a question that does need to be asked, for the historic (and even at times still current) animosity between French and English Canada is a sad but true scenario of Canadian history and culture (and it certainly would be at best a bit problematic had Barbara Greenwood omitted the 1606 French Canadian harvest celebrations not because of an oversight but because she deliberately had chosen not to include this).
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With his 1996 The Circle of Thanks, Joseph Bruchac achieves two prime and very much important if not even essential directives and purposes. For one, both Joseph Bruchac’s introductory notes for The Circle of Thanks and the fourteen featured Native American poems of thanksgiving absolutely and glowingly demonstrate to readers that our annual Thanksgiving Day holiday (in both the United States and in Canada) is in fact not really or rather not only a celebration supposedly FIRST engaged in on North American soil by the so-called Mayflower Pilgrims in 1621. Because yes indeed, long long before the settlement (and the subjugation) of North America by us Europeans, there were indeed and also of course quite naturally a multitude of different and various Native American (and Native Canadian) thanksgiving ceremonies, festivals and customs honouring the harvest, the earth, the sun, nature in general (and with many of these festivities actually also taking place in the autumn, at the same time of the year when harvest festivals are celebrated world wide). And for two, the fourteen celebratory and thanksgiving poems of The Circle of Thanks, they are not only a wonderfully poetic and delightful teaching and learning tool (for both children and adults) regarding Native American and Canadian culture and his, these verses of song also in my opinion represent a great way to change up Thanksgiving celebrations by incorporating these verse like songs, by using them to celebrate the earth, the sky, the harvest, the world, without religious dogma and the in my opinion for many Native people’s tainted and sullied tradition of how the first American Thanksgiving supposedly manifested itself (because there is most definitely much about the American Thanksgiving story and legends that is at best painful for Native Americans and Canadians). Highly recommended and definitely both a poetic and spiritually engaging as well nature and the universe honouring reading treat is The Circle of Thanks, with the poetic songs of Native American thanksgiving which Joseph has included delightfully and with imaginative realism visually mirrored and complimented by Murv Jacob’s accompanying wood-cut like artwork (pictures that with their expressiveness aesthetically show and demonstrate what the poems in The Circle of Thanks achieve and present textually and verbally).
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Although the accompanying illustrations of Oge Mora's Thank You, Omu! would generally and aesthetically speaking be just a bit too cartoon-like for them to be considered absolute personal favourites, I have indeed been more than pleasantly surprised at how much I have visually enjoyed them and how the pictures both colour scheme and general descriptiveness wise do indeed work very well with the author/illustrator's presented verbal narrative, how glowingly both text and images mirror and reflect the importance of being good neighbours and sharing, of giving freely and without second thought (and even if one literally gives away everything, like how Omu gives away all of her stew, all of her supper fare, that in a thriving and vibrant, that in a caring and community oriented neighbourhood, good deeds will fortunately not like that silly saying states end up resulting in personal punishment but will instead mostly if not always have positive effects and help cement and strengthen neighbourhood ties). Educational without being didactic, I love the naturally multicultural feel of Thank you, Omu! and that everyone (ethnicity notwithstanding) appreciates both Omu and her delicious red stew, that Omu's doors are indeed welcomingly open to absolutely one and all, including members of the police, as well as the mayor (and yes, I have also very much enjoyed reading how according to Oge Mora's author's note, Omu's name might mean queen in the Igbo language of her Nigerian parents but for her, growing up, it was the name she called her grandmother). A simple but magical combination of Oge Mora's lovingly tender (and obviously from the author's note also her grandmother honouring) printed words and bright collage like illustrations, Thank you, Omu! has been a surprisingly sweet reading experience for me (with especially the final illustration of Omu and everyone to whom she had doled out some of her delicious red stew during the day enjoying a spontaneous supper party tugging at my heartstrings, and indeed, I also kind of had to smile at the scene of the hot dog vendor coming up to get some of Omu's delicious stew, that Omu's cookery is definitely and naturally much more enticing taste and scent wise to the hot dogs, to the so-called street meat it is his job to sell day in and day out). And really, the only inclusion to Thank you, Omu! that would in my opinion make this book even better would be a featured recipe for Omu's red stew (as I for one love soups and stews and would majorly enjoy trying my hand at cooking this for myself).
Manybooks wrote: "Thank You, Omu!Although the accompanying illustrations of Oge Mora's Thank You, Omu! would generally and aesthetically speaking be just a bit too cartoon-like for them to be consi..."
Oge Mora lives locally and she's gotten a LOT of positive buzz about her books. She mostly does illustrations but it was great to read her own original work. I didn't go to the children's book festival this year. It's too long a walk and not on the bus line but maybe next year and I'll pick up an autographed copy of Thank You, Omu!.
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Although the accompanying illustrations of Oge Mora's Thank You, Omu! would generally and aesthetically speaking be just a bit too cartoon-like fo..."
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So yes, with her 2012 non-fiction picture book Arctic Tern Migration Rebecca E. Hirsch provides for her young readers, gives children from about the age of six or so onwards a simple but still sufficiently informative and descriptive textual introduction to Arctic Terns (and in fact to pretty well everything a curious child would need to and want to know about Arctic Terns, and yes, both within the text proper of Arctic Tern Migration and also with regard to the supplemental information on different types of animal migrations, the annotated glossary and a short but more than sufficient bibliography featuring both books and internet websites). And therefore, the book title of Arctic Tern Migration notwithstanding, Rebecca A. Hirsch’s featured text actually and of course presents not only all of the necessary details on Arctic Tern migration, and that Arctic Terns indeed travel from the Arctic all the way to Antarctica (and back again) during their journey. For yes indeed and wonderfully, Hirsch with Arctic Tern Migration also shows what Arctic Terns look like, how they nest and breed, the different migration routes they follow, that once Arctic Terns arrive in Antarctica they in fact remain there for two years before travelling back to the Arctic, how scientists are tracking Arctic Terns and their migration routes and last but certainly not least, also showing some the threats both natural and human caused Arctic Terns tend to to face, including humans gathering and consuming tern eggs en masse as well as global warming (although I do wish that Rebecca A. Hirsch’s text would point out that migrating birds like Arctic Terns often also face multiple threats and risks on their journeys as well and even once they have arrived at their destinations, because rather majorly annoyingly, it does feel as though in Arctic Tern Migration, Hirsch seems to pretty strongly insinuate that Arctic Terns somehow only must contend with dangers and threats whilst nesting and breeding in the Arctic and not whilst they reside in Antarctica, and well, I really do doubt that this would ever be the case). And finally, with regard to the accompanying photographs, while they do provide a descriptive visual mirror to and for Rebecca A. Hirsch’s printed words, personally, I rather do wish that Arctic Tern Migration would also feature some line drawings, some labelled illustrations of Arctic Terns (both male and female) at different stages of their lives, at different points of their development (as while the photographs are of course wonderful, they do not have the kind of specific anatomical details that hand drawn drawn illustrations would feature).
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Well first and foremost, I am very glad and most appreciative of the fact that author Cynthia Rylant in her 2006 non fiction picture book The Journey: Stories of Migration tells her six animal migration accounts (about locusts, whales, eels, Monarch butterflies, caribou and terns) both engagingly and with just enough factual detail for the intended age group, for older children from about the age of six to around nine or so (not too academic in scope and with Lambert Davis' brightly vibrant accompanying artwork providing an aesthetically delightful and realistic visual mirror, but also with The Journey: Stories of Migration thankfully neither being too textually simplistic nor ever artificially and annoyingly humorous). And furthermore, that Cynthia Rylant in The Journey: Stories of Migration also shows to her readers (or to her listeners) that not all migrating animals journey every year (that for example locusts only migrate if there are too many of them in a given place and that their migrations can often be pretty environmentally destructive) and indeed when Monarch butterflies migrate, it is in fact a two-part journey and that it is actually the second generation that returns and not the original migrants, this really is an added bonus as Rylant provides information that definitely is not always all that common knowledge. However, albeit for The Journey: Stories of Migration the combination of text and images should really be four stars, that Cynthia Rylant has not provided any sources, has not included a bibliography, I do find this majorly academically frustrating, a huge shortcoming, and enough so for me to lower my rating for The Journey: Stories of Migration to only three stars (as I am certainly increasingly frustrated and annoyed regarding how many strictly non fiction picture book for older children just do not bother with listing, with including bibliographic materials).
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Both harrowing and also at the same time interesting is Inuit mechanic and hunter Serapio Ittusardjuat's 2020 graphic novel How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice, presenting a short but also more than sufficiently detailed first person and true account (illustrated by Australian comic book artist Matthew K. Hoddy) of how he, of how Serapio Ittusardjuat manages to survive alone on the Arctic ice for four nights (until he is finally located and rescued) after his snowmobile breaks down on a solo trip to a remote fishing camp in Canada's Nunavut territory in December 2008 (to pick up some maktaaq, some whale skin that his son had left behind there). And yes, both textually and visually, I have found How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice a both very engaging and also often quite educational reading and viewing experience, with me definitely learning much regarding survival in the Arctic, that for example, Serapio refrains from eating because doing so outside in the frigid air can easily freeze one's mouth, how he melts small amounts of water from the surrounding snow and ice in order to keep sufficiently hydrated, and how even sleeping outside on his broken down snowmobile still keeps Serapio Ittusardjuat relatively warm and safe from dying of exposure to the elements because he has been taught to keep his feet, his hands and his head dry (basically that in How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice Serapio Ittusardjuat survives his snowmobile break-down and subsequent stranding by remembering the lessons of winter survival in the Arctic region taught to him by his family, by the Inuit, and that these lessons are not just of the past but are also important and necessary to remember for the present day). But although generally speaking, How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice is a solid four stars for me, with both Serapio Ittusardjuat's narration and Matthew K. Hoddy's artwork featuring a for the most part and generally wonderful textual and visual mirror (with each reflecting the other and with Hoddy's pictures of snow and ice visually also really showing the Arctic as appearing aesthetically spectacular but also really quite inherently dangerous and particularly so if one is stranded alone and with not much equipment, such as is of course the case for Serapio Ittusardjuat), there is one specific textual point regarding How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice that I have personally found a bit problematic and in need of discussion. For yes, there are a few questions I do have about Serapio's snowmobile trip in and of itself (like why he would travel all alone by snowmobile and with a snowmobile that is obviously having mechanical difficulties, and especially since Serapio is also not all that physically fit, that he is recovering from recent surgery), all scenarios that in my humble opinion should be considered a bit more thoroughly and perhaps also with a bit of a critical eye. And indeed, my questions about why Serapio Ittusardjuat went on that solo snowmobile excursion in the first place (with his unreliable snowmobile and his own physical challenges and limitations due to just having had surgery), combined with the fact that I would also find the included Inuit vocabulary of How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice much less frustrating if the English translations were incorporated into the text proper and not just relegated to the back of the book as a glossary, while I do think that How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice is a great and young reader friendly account of an exciting and scary tale of Arctic survival and perosnal perserverence, my final star rating will have to be not four but three stars.
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An absolutely delightful dual language Anishinaabemowin and English description both verbal and visual of the four seasons (and yes, I do appreciate that everything in Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know is dual language and not just the main textual body), and how a young Anishinaabe girl lyrically and with wonderful but subdued emotionality explains how she and her grandmother know that it is summer, autumn, winter and finally spring, Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know (which was also a 2021 finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards for Young People's Literature in Canada) is really and truly a superb and spectacular celebration of not only the four seasons but also of family and how the unnamed Anishinaabe girl (the first person narrator) and also her grandmother live in harmony with nature but also should not ever be seen and approached as being exotic or as the other, but simply as people, as individuals who appreciate the outdoors, who enjoy experiencing the four seasons, but that they also reside in typical modern houses (and not of course in tipis) and are basically just like anyone who enjoys seasonal changes and likes being outdoors and observing nature. Accompanied by Ojibwe artist Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley's colourful woodcut like artwork (which really does aesthetically both compliment and often visually expand on author Brittany Luby's lyrical and heartwarming text), Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know is both a solid five stars and also highly recommended as an "own voices" picture book that is totally suitable and approachable for EVERYONE (and with my only very minor and personal complaint being that as someone who loves languages and loves studying languages, I would really on an academic level have appreciated it if at the back of Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know, Brittany Luby would consider including an Anishinaabemowin and English glossary and perhaps some information on the Anishinaabemowin language). And finally, when Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know was chosen as a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards of Young People's Literature, the CBC, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation pointed out that the author, that Brittany Luby (even though she is of Anishinaabe descent) actually had to get someone else to write the Anishinaabemowin parts of Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know because she herself was never in fact taught her native tongue at school (and that she is now as an assistant professor at the University of Guelph finally getting a chance to learn Anishinaabemowin), and yes, this really does and should strike a chord, as so so so many Native Canadian and Native American children were not only not taught their traditional languages at school, they were in fact often told and taught that their mother tongues were lesser, that they were evil and depraved and that many First Nations children were in fact also severely punished for using their native languages at school etc.
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So yes indeed, David Alexander Robinson's "own voice" residential school graphic novel Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story (and based on what Cree Elder Betsy Ross actually experienced at a government mandated and Catholic Church run residential school as a child) might generally be rather scanty on textual expansion and detail. But truth be told, anyone who would even remotely consider Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story as therefore and somehow being meant as a basic (and also thus of course gently depicted) picture book for younger children is in my humble opinion most certainly and woefully misdirected and misinformed. For while David Alexander Robinson's text and Scott B. Henderson's accompanying and starkly expressive black and white illustrations are definitely basic and simple in their execution and in their expression, this very sparseness and that Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story actually often just seems to present a totally horrible horrible horrible list of cultural genocide (of Canadian government mandated cultural genocide), of First Nations children being forcefully wrenched from their families and their communities, of physical, emotional, and even at times sexual abuse (and all meant as a tool to be taking the "Indian" out of First Nations children and in the name of God at that), to and for me, this is actually a much more poignant representation and condemnation than a considerably more expansive story and explanation would be, because readers are in fact coming totally face to face with the absolute horror of those residential schools and that there is (and happily so) no way for us to hide away from this and to even in a tiny and minuscule manner try to believe that residential school was not absolute and utter torture, totally abusive and for Canada's First Nations also very much akin and alike to what Concentration Camps were in Nazi Germany. Highly recommended and I do in fact also and strongly believe that Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story should absolutely be mandatory reading in Canadian classrooms and for EVERY Canadian student above the age of twelve (and with no exemptions granted with regard to this either, in other words, with Sugar Falls: a Residential School Story there in my opinion should absolutely be no way for students to be permitted to excuse themselves from having to read this very important, but yes and of course, also exceedingly painful and horrifying graphic novel).
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So yes indeed, what I totally do very much both enjoy and massively appreciate about Grandpa’s Girls is that while Nicola I. Campbell’s delightfully sweet and fun narrative obviously and clearly features and describes an extended First Nations family (Salish, I do believe, from coastal British Columbia), Grandpa’s Girls basically is for all intents and purposes just a fun day spent visiting with a beloved grandfather, simply four cousins having lots of delightful little adventures on their grandfather’s farm, nothing exotic, no tribal regalia etc. being described and depicted (and no traumatic stories of overt bigotry either), thus both showing and demonstrating that our First Nations are not to be seen and approached as “the other” but as individuals, as people like everyone, and in Grandpa’s Girls a group of girls visiting their grandfather, exploring his home and his farm and even being a bit naughty when they delight in teasing the neighbour’s pig. And really, the only parts of Grandpa’s Girls which textually do point out that the families being featured by the author, by Nicola I Campbell are indeed First Nations, are the insertions of Salish language vocabulary and that Grandpa’s girls are busy trying to learn their ancestral tongues (something that totally does make me smile appreciatively albeit that I am also a trifle sad that this is even necessary, that for many First Nations children, their native languages are as unknown to them as, say, Chinese and Korean are to and for me). A wonderful and delightful little gem Grandpa’s Girls has been, and yes, a generally colourful and lively marriage of Nicola I. Campbell’s text and Kim Lafave’s accompanying artwork (and which really does work very well, visually showing how much the cousins are enjoying their visit with their grandfather, even though with regard to personal aesthetics, I do still find Lafave’s pictures just a wee bit too cartoon like and two dimensional for me). But actually, I in fact have no real issues with Kim Lafave’s artwork, since her illustrations totally do present a wonderful and playful visual mirror in Grandpa’s Girls, both complimenting and also expanding on Nicola I. Campbell’s printed words (and indeed, my only and very minor complaint with regard to Grandpa’s Girls is that the I, that the linguist in me, certainly would appreciate to have a bit of a pronunciation guide included for the inserted, for the included Salish words).
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Now with regard to actual facts, with regard to showing bona fide reality, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve’s The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood is indeed pretty much totally autobiographical. And of course (and in my opinion), this does certainly make her presented text, this does make Driving Hawk Sneve’s featured story both interesting and also truly emotionally engaging, allowing us as readers with The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood to have a glimpse into what what young Virginia’s life as a so-called preacher’s kid is like, as the daughter of a Sioux Episcopalian priest on a rather impoverished reservation, and where the needs and desires of the congregation often do seem to outweigh what the priest’s own children need and require, how being a PK also means having to willingly sacrifice a received coat from a donation box because the other children of the reservation supposedly have greater requirements, and this even though these other children are nasty, entitled and have often bullied the main character, Virginia Driving Horse Steve’s childhood self (and indeed, I also do really love love love how Ellen Beier’s illustrations for The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood combine Native American and European traditions in the Christmas festivities, how Santa Claus appears but how in the Nativity Scene the Three Wise Men are depicted as wearing traditional Native American headdresses and how the blanket covering the infant Jesus Christ is also Native American inspired, showing in my opinion that one can and should be able to combine different and multiple traditions into an harmonious whole). But as much as I have enjoyed The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood and the happy ending of Virginia finally getting her necessary winter coat and her brother receiving a pair of cowboy boots, I do have to admit that I am also more than a trifle annoyed at and frustrated with the fact that with regard to those Theast Boxes, the congregation always seems to come first, that if there in fact had not been a separate box sent to the priest, to Virginia’s father, she and her brother would more than likely be forced to wear skimpy and ill fitting outdoor clothing all winter while the other reservation children are clad warmly and snugly. And while I am of course happy that in The Christmas Coat: Memories of my Sioux Childhood, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve portrays her preacher’s kid life as it is, or rather as it was, personally, the sacrifices asked of her and her family really do make me cringe a bit, and yes, I certainly would appreciate a bit of author based criticism of this state of affairs, that I do rather wish there were more textual condemnation of the fact that with those Theast Boxes, the priest’s family obviously is supposed to always come last and choose last.
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Now really, if late Ontario Ojibway artist Leo Yerxa had actually made his 2006 picture book Ancient Thunder entirely wordless, I probably would be ranking it with a very solid five stars (and I do indeed say this as someone who is not always a fan of wordless picture books). For his, for Yerxa's artwork is most definitely awesome and inspiring, a total visual celebration of the horse and how horses have been such an important part of First Nations culture on the Canadian Prairies (or if talking about the United States of America, of course, the so-called Great Plains). And yes, Leo Yerxa's artwork, consisting of water-colour paper that has been handmade and painted to resemble the leather often worn by Prairie tribes and replete with multitudes of colourfully depicted generally galloping horses (and of course also the equally necessary and in my opinion required depictions of buffaloes, antelopes and eagles), this all has aesthetically very much entered and expanded in my innermost soul, giving a delightfully imaginative but at the same time also tinged with (historic) realism aesthetic feast and homage to Prairie tribes such as for example the Cree, the Assiniboine and the Tsuut'ina. However, as much as I have and absolutely so truly visually adored the illustrations in Ancient Thunder, I have if truth be told found the accompanying text, whilst certainly poetic enough, also not really in any way even remotely a true and lasting compliment to and for the amazing artwork, finding Leo Yerxa's printed words often a trifle distracting from the power and glory of his pictures, and also often making me have to search for the presented text within the illustrations (and which I certainly do not with my ageing eyes appreciate all that much). And while there is of course nothing actually wrong or inappropriate regarding Leo Yerxa's printed words in Ancient Thunder, personally, I just have not found his poetic musings about horses all that interesting in and of themselves and certainly not in any manner en par with his featured illustrations, with Leo Yerxa's absolutely horsey and very much incredibly magical pictures.
Oh, some more I own that I forgot to add (instead of curriculum library):Leaves:
A Friend for Noodles by Hans Wilhelm (Noodles series)
A Tree Can Be... by Judy Nayer
A Is for Autumn by Robert MaassAnimals preparing for winter:
Animals of the High Mountains by Judith E. RinardNative American (and thanks):
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp
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Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert."
Leaf Man This book always seems immensely popular this time of year. It has many holds at our library and does every year. I can see the appeal and my son has picked it out from the library himself in the past (not even in autumn) but it never quite wowed me (though I love the concept of making art with leaves!) I actually preferred the newly published If You Find a Leaf so, if you can get your hands on that, you might like to see how the students respond to that by comparison and show a second approach to leaf art. The art is not made entirely of leaves, as with Leaf Man, it has traditional illustrations with leaves added in imaginative ways (such as a maple leaf = campfire).
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This looks good but the waiting list at the library is too long for me to bother.
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Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert."
Leaf Man This book ..."
I wonder how many parents and children choose Leaf Man because of the appealing cover image and then end up being (like with me) a bit disappointed by the text.
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I agree, the cover is immensely attractive but the text leaves something to be desired.
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I can already add In November which I read recently, but I have be honest; I only gave it two stars. Therefore I will not bother putting my review here.
I look..."
I was not wowed by that one, either, though I usually enjoy Cynthia Rylant's work.
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OKC system has 18 copies of this! And even our little local library got it. Thanks for the alert; I've placed my request.
message 44:
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Nov 03, 2022 07:44AM)
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Her shelves: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
And most of the ones that I've not yet reviewed that are on OL:
The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood
Native Athletes in Action
I See Me
Songs of Shiprock Fair
Morning on the Lake
I Can't Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam
Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns
What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?
Santa Knows
Kathryn wrote: "I'm very excited about Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story which is newly published. I'm first in the holds queue for this when it lands at the library! This should cover Na..."Me too. I have it on hold already. It's popular, obviously, especially since half the state, the part where I grew up, was Wampanoag territory.
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The Sugaring-Off Party
Jonathan London's The Sugaring-Off Party is not so much a story about the sugaring process itself, but rather a tale about the party after the sugaring has been completed and the maple syrup produced. Told as a tale within a tale, and liberally interspersed with French expressions, a French Canadian grand-mère (grandmother) tells her little grandson (who is about to attend his very first sugaring-off party) about the sugaring celebrations of her own childhood and the fun, food, music, dancing and sense of family that were part and parcel to these joyous occasions. The full-page illustrations by renowned French Canadian folk painter Gilles Pelletier are an evocative, colourful and charmingly naive accompaniment (I think that the Montreal Candiens hockey jerseys worn by the "terrible twins" are a wonderful, whimsical touch). Although in and by themselves the folksy pictures would not be entirely to my liking, they work very well with Jonathan London's engaging narrative, providing a fitting complement and compliment. I also really appreciate that because The Sugaring Off Party is a story of and about French Canada, a number of French expression are included within the text proper. And although many of them do seem rather self-explanatory within the context of the narrative, I also much appreciate that Jonathan London has actually included a glossary of the French terms with their English counterparts. And I do much like the fact that, although this story is primarily about the French Canadian tradition of going to a cabane à sucre for an annual sugaring-off party, the author also mentions on the glossary page that the term maple or sugar moon is what the Abenaki Indians call the March moon (and that this is considered the main time for maple sugaring). It should not be forgotten that Native Americans and Canadian First Nations were the first to produce maple syrup and maple sugar, and that European settlers learned from them and were taught by them.
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Leaf Jumpers Well first and foremost, illustrator Leslie Evans' autumn foliage pictures for Leaf Jumpers are absolutely lovely and indeed a true and delightful aesthetic, a wonderful visual treat (and indeed, the leaves are certainly depicted in all their colourful glory), with me also very much appreciating the variety of foliage types that are represented in Leaf Jumpers and that they are both visually represented by Leslie Evans and verbally identified by author Carole Gerber (maples, basswood, willows, oaks etc.).
But while the different autumn leaves and their respective colours as they are depicted by Leslie Evans in Leaf Jumpers are thus superbly visually appealing, sorry, but both my adult self and also my inner child are not really all that willing and not really even able to overlook the fact that Carole Gerber's presented text for Leaf Jumpers is pretty clumsy and awkward, with choppy transitions and also with repetitive vocabulary choices that leave textually inclined me frustrated and annoyed and even rather wanting ONLY Evans' accompanying (and visually spectacular artwork) and indeed NONE of Gerber's at best mediocre and subpar printed words. For yes indeed, the only textual part of Leaf Jumpers I have personally found enjoyable and readable is when Carole Gerber describes the fun of jumping into piles of autumn foliage (and of course her identifying the names of the included leaves), while conversely, with EVERY SINGLE picture in Leaf Jumpers, Leslie Evans provides absolute and total visual magic, and indeed, the latter is also the one and only reason why my rating for Leaf Jumpers is still three and not two stars (and that honestly, said rating is also really quite generous on my part).
So would I actually recommend Leaf Jumpers? I guess I would consider using the spectacular and oh so delightful artwork that Leslie Evans has provided with children and to show them the different types of autumn leaves (their different colours, their shapes and also their names, the names of the different trees). But since I really do think that Carole Gerber's writing is majorly annoyingly and frustratingly awkward, I would probably NOT be using Leaf Jumpers as a read-aloud with or for a group of children, but would instead use Leaf Jumpers only with one to three children, and not bother with the text and only make use of the pictures.
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I usually do not rate many books with five stars and really, if I were to simply consider David Bouchard's I am Raven according to how much I have in fact personally enjoyed my reading experience, I would probably be ranking this book with three or four stars. However, after reading a majorly and horribly insulting (at least in my opinion) review of I am Raven where a reader, where a reviewer is giving I am Raven a one star ranking simply because there are some who have recently challenged David Bouchard's Métis heritage (and indeed, from my own research, without much if any concrete proof), I indeed am willingly and gladly ranking I am Raven with five stars. For yes and from where I am standing, it is at best immature and at worst profoundly troublingly nasty and vile to rate a book one has not even (seemingly) read with one star and simply because there have been UNSUBSTANTIATED rumours and reports about the author's culture and ethnic background (alright, my tirade is over and done with, but yes, this did need to be said and I do feel very much better having done so). Now with regard to I am Raven, I really do appreciate that while David Bouchard's text is full of spirituality, there also never appear instances of preachiness or demanding messages, that Bouchard obviously wants us readers to discover and to become one with our clan, to choose our animal spirit guide, our totem, but that he also and always points out in I am Raven that this is all and as it naturally and well should be our personal choice (what we ourselves desire). And while at times, I probably would have wanted and perhaps even rather needed a bit of authorial guidance choosing from the featured animal totems (as I actually from their descriptions have found rather a few that seemingly pertain to me, that seemingly suit me), in retrospect and using the internal story recounted in I am Raven, where Raven gives the waiting Chief no physical gifts (like the other animal spirits have been trying to do) but rather all-important self knowledge and confidence, I do realise that with regard to finding and choosing my animal totem, I should indeed refrain from asking to be spoon-fed (and to figure all of this out for and by myself). So yes (and to and for me on a personal, on an emotional and spiritual level), I am Raven has totally and utterly been a wonderful and delightful, even necessary reading journey (and in particular David Bouchard's text, although Andy Everson's accompanying artwork also does very much provide an aesthetically wonderful but appreciatively understated visual mirror) and one that I do indeed very highly recommend.
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Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native SugarmakingWith an engaging, informative text and spectacular accompanying photographs, Laura Waterman Wittstock presents a detailed and step-by-step introduction to and description of traditional Anishinaabe maple sugar-making (not only the sugaring process itself, but also the traditions, the culture of Anishinaabe sugar making and the knowledge passed down from generation to generation). And although the text of Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking is primarily informative and non-fictional, it nevertheless still does draw you in emotionally in so far that you actually do feel like an active participant and not just a passive observer. Furthermore and indeed, Anishinaabe elder "Porky" White's knowledge of the trees, of the weather, and his respect for and appreciation of the maple trees, of nature as a living and breathing entity is truly very much impressive. He actually personally seems to know all of his trees, and when it is the right time to start the sugaring, the maple syrup production process (the signs of early spring). And Porky also seems to regard his maple trees not so much as resources to be exploited, but as actual partners (I think that one of my favourite parts of Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking is when Porky and a few of his sugaring companions go into the woods to thank the maple trees, thanking Ininatig or man-tree for sharing its sweet and oh so tasty syrupy bounty).
Now Porky White and his sugaring partner Madeline Moose also do not just engage in yearly sugaring at Porky's sugarbush, they also teach traditional Anishinaabe sugarmaking to urban children, who come to the sugarbush to spend time observing the sugaring process, as well as working (helping out) in the sugarbush. These children are not only being taught how to extract sap from the maple trees and turn that sap into maple syrup or maple sugar. They are also learning respect for the land, respect for ones' elders, respect for and appreciation of Native American culture and traditions (and of course they also get the chance to spend some fun and engaging time in the outdoors and not cooped up in stuffy urban apartments, school rooms and the like). And finally, one of the most appealing and positive parts of Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking is that both the text and the accompanying photographs are by Native Americans (author Larua Waterman Wittstock is a member of the Seneca Nation of New York while photographer Dale Kakkak is a member of the Menominee Nation), as unfortunately, even today, many books about Native American and First Nations culture and traditions are still written by so-called outsiders and also do at times contain misinformation and exoticisms. Highly recommended, but although the text, the narrative of Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking reads easily and flowingly enough, it is also at the same time rather textually dense and involved, and thus younger children might well lose focus and become distracted (even if the book were being read aloud to them). I would therefore recommend Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking mostly to and for children above the ages of seven or eight (as well as to and for adults, to and for basically to anyone interested in traditional Native American/Canadian sugar making, in how Native Americans and Canadians have traditionally produced their maple syrup, their maple sugar).
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Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Thanks for Thanksgiving (other topics)Thanks for Thanksgiving (other topics)
A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters (other topics)
What's in Your Pocket?: Collecting Nature's Treasures (other topics)
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Duncan Tonatiuh (other topics)Heather L. Montgomery (other topics)
John Feilen (other topics)
Duncan Tonatiuh (other topics)
Hans Wilhelm (other topics)
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A picture book with autumn leaves on the cover
A picture book celebrating the harvest
A picture book with "Thanks" in the title
A picture book by a Native-American author/illustrator (November is National Native American Heritage month in the USA)
A non-fiction picture book about animals preparing for winter
Have fun! :-)