1,720,962 research outputs found
Hand Over Hand by A. Fullerton
No full textFullerton, Alma. Hand Over Hand. Illustrated by Renné Benoit. Second Story Press, 2017.
Award-winning author of A Good Trade and In a Cloud of Dust, Alma Fullerton returns with another excellent picture book about a young Filipina girl who goes against gender stereotypes to go fishing with her grandfather. In Hand Over Hand, Nina convinces her grandfather, Lolo, to take her out fishing and with her determination and Lolo’s support she manages to catch a large fish. The story is portrayed through simple phrases with occasional onomatopoeia in large contrasting font on Benoit’s soft watercolour images to invoke a quietly empowering story.
I would recommend this book for educators and librarians not only because of the non-tokenizing nature of the representation of the Philippines or the theme of gender equality but also because of the way the illustrations and the story blend together to create a perfect storytime book for early readers to share or read alone. The illustrations are rich enough that early level readers will be entertained while the repetitive nature of the phrases and the vocabulary make it an excellent choice to grow a reader’s confidence. It also has the potential to be laddered into an activity where learners create a story of their own and use watercolours to illustrate their story which could appear to higher-level educators looking for an English and/or Art project for their classes.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is the Online Reference Centre Coordinator with The Alberta Library (TAL) and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
Sukaq and the Raven by R. Goose & K. McCluskey
No full textGoose, Roy & McCluskey, Kerry. Sukaq and the Raven. Illustrated by Soyeon Kim. Inhabit Media, 2017.
Inhabit Media is a quality publisher and Sukaq and the Raven matches their usual exemplary quality of story and imagery. The story is a traditional legend from Inuit storyteller Roy Goose illustrated using Kim’s beautiful three-dimensional dioramas. This wondrous illustration style previously earned Kim the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award for her work You Are Stardust and it is easy to see how her artwork is award-winning. The depth created by the illustrations perfectly complements the story which follows Sukaq as he falls into his favourite bedtime story—how the raven created the world. As with many of Inhabit Media’s works, this story is distinctly Inuit while remaining understandable to everyone which makes it extremely useful in classrooms and libraries.
The audience for this piece could range from pre-reading children to later elementary students as the full-page illustrations provide enough interest to any reader. Most young readers will need a reading buddy due to the amount of text and the complexity of some words. Artistically-minded readers may be intrigued by the three-dimensional diorama illustration style though educators or librarians may find this story to be a great introduction to a craft program involving dioramas. Parents may also find this story works well as a bedtime story due to the flow and lack of interrupting onomatopoeias (boom, beep, etc.). I highly recommend this book given how the illustrations and story combine to create a book that is pleasing to readers of many ages.
Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is an Instruction Librarian at NorQuest College Library and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
Smiley: A Journey of Love by J. George
No full textGeorge, Joanne. Smiley: A Journey of Love. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2017.
Smiley: A Journey of Love is the heartwarming story of a blind dog who becomes a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog. While the story contains some complex topics that early readers might struggle with such as Alzheimer\u27s or puppy mills, the colourful photography that accompanies the text make it an excellent book to be read with an adult. The photographs of Smiley will help very early readers to invest in Smiley’s story though the text is larger and double spaced so that moderate level readers could use this book to build their reading skills. Given the length and amount of text, this book would be longer than could be covered in one storytime but is broken down by chapters so it could be used for a week of storytimes.
Librarians and educators may find this book useful for starting a discussion around blindness or different ability needs. This book frames Smiley’s blindness and dwarfism simply as things that make Smiley himself and while they might change the way he interacts with the world, this book discusses his abilities in a positive way. There is also a part that discusses Smiley’s friendship with Pearl and Pippi which could be used to teach about being respectful of friends\u27 needs. Overall, this book contains high-level vocabulary and concepts but if read with an adult\u27s support can be the start of some very educational discussions.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is the Online Reference Centre Coordinator with The Alberta Library (TAL) and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
West Coast ABCs by J. Asnong
No full textAsnong, Jocey. West Coast ABCs. Rocky Mountain Books, 2018.
Jocey Asnong returns with a new ABC book similar to her Rocky Mountain ABCs but this time highlights the beautiful west coast of Canada. Each page of this board book features one or two letters from the alphabet, a west coast place starting with one of those letters, a full colour illustration relating to that place, and a short phrase using words beginning with the alphabet letter(s) of the page. The target audience for this work would include toddlers, pre-K, and early primary students. Some of the words might be difficult for younger readers so this is a book best read with an adult though even the youngest readers will love the bright colours of the illustrations.
Since most of the letters have more than one word, this book better represents some of the different sounds that each letter can make, for example the sounds in paddle versus porpoises which makes this book particularly attractive for anyone working on phonetics with a reader. I would especially recommend this for anyone on the west coast as having familiar places featured in the book would only increase the enjoyment already provided by the wonderful art showcased in this work.
Recommended: 3 stars out of 4 Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is an Instruction Librarian at NorQuest College Library and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
Poetree by C. Pignat
No full textPignat, Caroline. Poetree. Illustrated by François Thisdale, Red Deer Press, 2018.
Caroline Pignat is a two-time Governor General Award winner and it’s easy to see why when one looks at her latest beautiful book. Each page of Poetree is simply delightful with short simple poems complemented by François Thisdale’s excellent illustrations. The illustrations perfectly invoke the feeling of the poem whether it be the frosty cold of a silent winter’s morning or the pure warm delight of a warm summer\u27s day. The short length of the poetry and the everyday-vocabulary chosen by Pignat makes this book accessible to many readers, even those working on their English skills or who are new to poetry.
For educators and librarians, this book would be an excellent addition to a program celebrating poetry. In fact, the style of the short poems and illustrations focusing on daily life could be showcased in the reading of this book and then learners could work on creating their own illustrated poems in the style of Poetree. The combination of eye-catching illustrations with high contrast text will no doubt delight audiences of all ages if used in story times and the overall simplicity of the language would allow newer readers to still engage, making this an excellent addition to classrooms and libraries.
Recommended with Reservations: 3 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is an Instruction Librarian at NorQuest College Library and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
The Whale Child by C. Simpson
No full textSimpson, Carroll. The Whale Child. Illustrated by Carroll Simpson. Heritage House Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016.
Simpson does not list an Indigenous community affiliation so I will be referring to this work as Indigenous-inspired based on the author information provided.
The Whale Child by Carroll Simpson is a story about a young girl who is swept out to sea after her village is destroyed and develops a connection with a whale to find her way back to her sister. It features Simpson’s signature West Coast First Nation inspired art style and style of storytelling creating a visually beautiful book that even younger readers might enjoy for the illustrations. Simpson acknowledges that this tale is not a traditional tale but rather one of her own creation with biological facts about whales at the end of the story; however, the artwork and phrasing in the story would likely mislead readers to believe it to be a traditional retelling. This is similar to her other titles in her Coastal Spirit Tales series which feature Indigenous-inspired art and storytelling making them a resource to be used only with critical thought.
The Whale Child has all the trappings of a book that would be easy to use as Indigenous content in early grades; however, doing so would displace Indigenous voices that could be used so I would caution against using this title only because it fits the assumptions of what Indigenous works look like.
For both librarians and educators, I would recommend engaging with your Indigenous connections prior to using this book to ensure that it is catalogued or implemented into the curriculum appropriately. It is possible that there may be Indigenous voices that your community would like highlighted in place of Indigenous-inspired works and that should be something critically discussed when looking at this book as an educational resource.
Recommended with reservations: 2 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Reviewers Biography
Lorisia MacLeod is an Instruction Librarian at NorQuest College Library and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
Smoot by M. Cuevas
No full textCuevas, Michelle. Smoot. Illustrated by Sydney Smith. Tundra Books, 2017.
Smoot is the story of an adventurous shadow that is attached to a rather unadventurous boy until one day Smoot finds himself detached and free to live out his wildest dreams. Even other shadows are inspired in this short but warm tale on the importance of childish joy in the simple things. Young readers will enjoy the 48 pages of colourful images that accompany the story though they would likely best enjoy the story read to them as some of the vocabulary may be tricky for young readers. The illustrations are similar to some of Tundra Book’s other publications such as If a Horse Had Words and will delight adults in addition to younger readers.
This would be a lovely recommendation for any young reader who enjoys Peter Pan’s shadow since there are a number of similarities in the shadows’ demeanours. The slightly oversized size of the book makes this an excellent choice for classroom or library storytimes. In fact, this story could easily be used as part of a storytime program where children could be asked what brings them joy or even asked to act it out with their shadows. Overall, I would primarily recommend this book to parents and libraries though elementary teachers may find this work to be beneficial to start discussions about students’ hopes and dreams.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lorisia MacLeo
More Than Personal Communication : Templates For Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers
No full textIn this project report, I introduce the citation templates for Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers that I created in partnership with the staff of the NorQuest Indigenous Student Centre. These citation templates have been adopted/linked to by twenty-five institutions across Canada and the United States. They represent an attempt to formalize something that Indigenous scholars have been doing for decades: fighting to find a better way to acknowledge our voices and knowledges within academia. I outline how the project was developed, highlighting the importance of stable, respectful relationships, before delving into some of the literature and personal experiences that provided the reasoning for why more culturally responsive citation is needed. Part of the background is acknowledging my own experiences as an Indigenous scholar, but I also draw on literature from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars to illustrate the interdisciplinary need for these templates. I provide in-depth explanations of each element in the new citation templates to explain the reasoning behind and/or importance of each element. For example, I outline why including the individual’s nation/community is important for breaking down the pan-Indigenous stereotype and helping scholars to recognize the variation of knowledge across the hundreds of unique Indigenous communities. While the main focus of this paper will be these specific citation templates, I hope that it will also empower, inspire, and provide a case study of how academia can make small changes to improve the respectful recognition of Indigenous knowledges and voices. Given the recent focus in educational institutions on being more inclusive of Indigenous ways of knowing, I think it is only right that we also look at reconsidering how we treat things like Indigenous oral knowledge in academia and whether there are systems in place that implicitly prioritize written knowledge over oral knowledge in a form of ongoing colonialism
How Nivi Got Her Names by L. Deal
No full textDeal, Laura. How Nivi Got Her Names. Illus. Charlene Chua. Inhabit Media, 2017.Inhabit Media, an Inuit-owned publishing company, has brought to publication another wonderful story celebrating Inuit naming customs and family ties in How Nivi Got Her Names. The story follows young Nivi as she asks her mother how she came to have the names that she has which leads to an explanation of the traditional Inuit naming practices. The introduction by Aviaq Johnston features some basic information into the cultural background surrounding Inuit custom adoption and naming which would be useful to both adults reading to children and educators looking to frame this book within a lesson plan on Inuit ways of life. Similarly, the glossary featured at the end of the book provides readers with aid in translating the various traditional kinship terms that are used throughout the story.It features 32 pages of full-colour illustrations, all of which are vibrant and provide visual interest for readers while the writing is always on a white background to ensure good readability. The text overall is simple and comprehensible to the intended audience of 5 to 7 year-olds, but may be above their reading level, so an adult may need to read this book aloud. For parents, this book could be a great springboard into discussing family stories with their child. For educators and public librarians, this book is a very accessible introduction to a facet of Inuit culture that could easily be used during reading times or in the classroom.Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4Lorisia MacLeod is a second year Masters of Library and Information Studies student and Indigenous Intern at the University of Alberta. When not working on her studies, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes or travelling.</jats:p
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