(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maya McKibbin. On an ordinary summer day, Lauren and her younger brother, James, go to the lake with Moshom, their grandfather. After the long journey, Moshom lies down for a nap. Hungry and impatient, the children decide to take their canoe out to fish. Suddenly, the boat tips over and James is taken away by the Memekwesewak ("little people"). Lauren pursues them, swimming through "a watery pathway" to another world. Finally, she meets up with James and they dance with the Memekwesewak "for hours that turned into days," forgetting everything else until they hear their grandfather's distant cry: "Way-oh, hey, hey / ...Come back! Hear my welcome song! / My beating drum will guide you home!" According to the appended author's note, "Indigenous communities across Turtle Island have stories of the Memekwesewak...[who] live between the rocks, the rapids, amid the trees of the land that provides us with life." McKibbin's ("a Two-Spirited Ojibwe, Yoeme, and Irish settler artist") illustrations depict them as white, wraithlike beings and use dark purples and blues to signal when the children have entered the underwater world. Norway House Cree Nation member Robertson here provides readers with a satisfying story about the strength of family bonds, persistence, and determination.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maya McKibbin. Swift Fox's dad is coming to visit. Unlike their usual visits, today Dad will be driving her to meet her family on the reserve: "Today you're going to learn how to be Mi'kmaq." The girl is apprehensive ("What's Mi'kmaq?") and her father's response doesn't help: "It's how you walk, talk, and think." When she gets to her family's home, she is greeted by aunts, uncles, and cousins. The earth-toned, digital-looking illustrations depict a family of varying skin tones, hair colors, and textures; Swift Fox can easily see the resemblance among them and to herself. However, her uncertainty about the unfamiliar smudging ceremony leads her to run from the house. Eventually the smell of her dad's fry bread--something warm and familiar--brings her back. Readers can relate to the fear of meeting new people and learning new traditions; throughout the illustrations there are butterflies, a reminder of how the character's "belly fills with" them. The story authentically depicts how a child might feel being introduced to a culture that they haven't had the opportunity to participate in regularly. In the author's note, we learn that Thomas grew up "off-reserve," and that, like Swift Fox's father, her dad did his best to teach her what it means to be Mi'kmaq.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020