A telephone call from her grandmother has a young native girl in the city looking forward to visiting the reserve. In gentle, joyous ways we see how women — especially grandmothers — are often the spiritual glue when families are separated by long miles.
Canada
Materials from Canada
The Song Within My Heart
Renowned Native painter Allen Sapp’s inspired and stunning artwork beautifully complements this sweet story of a boy preparing for his first powwow. The young boy’s Nokum — his beloved grandmother — guides him through the events of the day and helps him to understand what the singing and dancing are about. Award-winning author David Bouchard adds rhythmic and informative text based on remembrances from Allen Sapp’s own Cree childhood. A portion of the royalties for The Song Within My Heart will be donated to the Indian Federated College.
White Tails Don’t Live In The City
A look at the beauty of nature and living in the open country by One of Canada’s all-time best-selling authors and British Columbia’s most sought-after public speaker, David Bouchard.
The Legend Of The Caribou Boy
A young boy is having trouble sleeping at night. He is being called to fulfill his destiny, a destiny which lives on today in the traditions and culture of the Dene people and their relationship to the caribou and the land on which they live.
Tuk And The Whale
During the early 1600s, there was an active whaling industry in Canada. Whale oil was used to light the streets and buildings of European cities and to manufacture leather, wool, and soap. The baleen was used to make everything from carriage springs to corsets. Told from the point of view of a young Inuit boy named Tuk, this story imagines what might have happened if the people of Tuk’s Baffin Island winter camp had encountered European whalers, blown far from their usual whaling route. Both the hunters and the whalers prize the bowhead whale for different reasons. Together, they set out on a hunt, though they are all on new and uncertain ground. Scrupulously researched and vetted, this early chapter book inspires discussion about communication between two groups of people with entirely different world views, early whaling practices, and a productive partnership that also foreshadows serious problems to come. Simply and beautifully told, Tuk and the Whale includes a glossary, historical note, and recommendations for further reading.
People of the Trail: How the Northern Forest Indians Lived
Describes the family life, games, hunting and fishing techniques, homes, clothing, beliefs, and means of travel of the Indians of the Northwest.
Salmon Boy: A Legend of the Sechelt People
Simple and compelling First Nations drawings illustrate this dynamic story that teaches respect for the environment and describes the life cycle of the salmon.
The Cree (First Americans)
Provides comprehensive information on the background, lifestyle, beliefs, and present-day lives of the Cree people.
Wolf Run: A Caribou Eskimo Tale
When the caribou herds fail to return in the spring, famine becomes so acute that a young Eskimo boy sets out alone in search of food.
Skysisters
Two Ojibway sisters set off across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits’ midnight dance. It isn’t easy for the younger sister to be silent, but gradually she begins to treasure the stillness and the wonderful experiences it brings. After an exhilarating walk and patient waiting, the girls are rewarded by the arrival of the SkySpirits — the Northern Lights — dancing and shimmering in the night sky. This powerful story, with its stunning illustrations, captures the chill of a northern night, the warmth of the family circle and the radiance of a child’s wonder.