WOW Recommends: Berry Song

A grandmother and her granddaughter look up to the viewer from underneath green leaves and pink berries.Berry Song by Michaela Goade is a celebration of the land, the indigenous people and animals that live on the “island at the edge of a wide, wild sea.” Goade grew up and lives in the Tongass National Forest which is the home of her Tlingit ancestors. The story takes place in that Forest. A young girl tells of how her Tlingit grandmother taught her to harvest what they needed from the salty ocean gathering herring eggs, seaweed and netting silvery salmon. “And in the forest… we pick berries. …The berries sing to us, glowing like little jewels. We sing too, so berry–and bear–know we are here.” As they sing they say the names of the multiple kinds of berries that they harvest. Their songs encompass the variety of ways the forest “sings to us, through misting rain and whoosh of wing, the sweet smell of cedar and the tickle of moss.”

At the end of their berry picking, they make salmon berry syrup and cranberry marmalade. They feast on huckleberry pie and strawberry crisp, raspberry scones and freshly whipped soapberries. They share gifts of blueberry jelly and nagoonberry jam. They give thanks for their harvest, in Tlingit, “Gunalcheesh.” The story comes full circle with the girl, now older, taking her sister out to harvest berries. She is continuing the reverence for the land and for its gifts established by her grandmother.

The illustrations show the lushness and diversity of the rain forest. Goade applies layers of bright color using watercolors, pastels and mixed media in detailed, textured illustrations. Look closely to find the almost hidden animals, and plants in the forest. The berries are highlighted on almost every page. Close-up scenes alternate with long views of vistas. There is a rhythm to the pictures with two page spreads filled with color that alternate with single pages using white space to effectively set off the illustrations. Don’t miss the end papers that give a close-ups of the berries with their English and Tlingit names. Goade won the Caldecott medal for her illustrations in We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom. This book is the first she has authored and illustrated. It is a gorgeous book that children will want to visit again and again.

The Note from the Author at the end gives extensive information about Goade’s life in Sitka, Alaska, information about Tlingit people and their way of life. She ends with the message: “Indigenous history and rights, land sovereignty, and environmental justice are closely intertwined, and I encourage you to listen to and lift Indigenous voices.”

-Recommended by Marilyn Carpenter, Professor Emeritus Eastern Washington University

Title: Berry Song
Author/Illustrator: Michaela Goade
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
PubDate: 2022
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-49417-5

Each month a committee of Worlds of Words advisors recommends a book published within the last year. Our hope is to spark conversations on our website and on social media about the book that expand global understandings and perceptions. Please join us by leaving a comment. You can also share your thoughts with us by using the hashtag #WOWRecommends on social media. See our full list of WOW Recommends in the archives.

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