Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome

Written by Nancy Cooper

Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Owlkids Books

 978-1-77147-515-0

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

March 2023

 

It may be a reunion of beavers, but Amik's little sister Nishiime is a little anxious. What should she expect from all these beavers coming from far and wide?

From Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

From the East and the far West, from the North and the South, Amik's cousins arrive and are welcomed. They bring gifts from their regions, whether a woven headband or berries in a basket, all generous and all received with gratitude. But Nishiime is nowhere to be found.

From Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

As the beavers go looking for Nishiime, Amik asks the deer, fish, fox, and otters if they've seen her. Though none have seen her, they all acknowledge the help that the beavers' activities have fortuitously provided them. Whether it's being able to reach the leaves of felled trees, or channels to swim in, a bridge to cross, or feeding in shallow waters created by dams, all the animals are appreciative.

From Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

It's not until the cousins are preparing to head home that Nishiime comes out of hiding, revealing the reason for her apprehension, and recognizing it as unfounded.

Using beavers to tell her tale, Nancy Cooper reminds us that, though we might come from different places and have different families, we are more alike than we might expect. Nishiime almost misses out on meeting her beaver cousins because of her fears; fortunately, she finally recognizes that though they might wear different markings, jewelry, and clothes, and all have different names–Amik is Anishinaabe, Amisk is Cree, Gopit is Mi'kmaq, Amicos is Algonquin, Kigiaq is Inuktitut, Qowut is Ayajuthum and Tsyennìto is Kanyen-kéha Mohawk–they are all beavers. Moreover, Amik and her family have been making everyone feel welcome, including the different species of animals. In a story about diversity and acceptance of differences, Nancy Cooper also reminds us of the interrelationship of living things. The message of connectedness and acceptance may be subtle and very organic, but it is convincing. 

 

The Woodland illustrations of Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, an Ojibwe artist, take us into that woodland to see these stylized animals in lush beaver habitats of land and water. From forests of birch and poplar, to dammed waters below striking sunsets of orange and turquoise, the artwork of Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, whose earlier book Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know made an enormous splash with its Woodland style, brings an appreciation of the natural world of the beaver and other animals. Still, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley always reminds us with small details like beaded bracelets, a Mi'kmaq peaked cap or a medicine pouch that this is a story based in Indigenous cultures and its teachings are even more profound because of its heritage.

 

Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome is a fresh picture book in language (a glossary of Anishinaabe and other words is included) and art, and its messages about acceptance and gratitude will make it a welcome addition to any bookshelf.

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know

Written by Brittany Luby

Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Translated by Alvin Ted Corbiere and Alan Corbiere

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-326-3

44 pp.

All ages

March 2021 

Written in Anishinaabemowin and English, this gorgeous picture book lets readers accompany a child and her grandmother as they take in the small and tremendous wonders of the natural world as it transforms in each season.

Beginning with Aaniish ezhi-gkendmaanh niibing? or How do I know summer is here?, the pair travel by canoe to pick blueberries. There is the Loon on the water and the green Luna Moth in the birch trees, bumblebees and fireweed in blossom, and hot sand. This summer outing ends with...

Mii maanda ezhi-gkenmaanh niibing.

This is how I know summer.

From Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know by Brittany Luby, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

In the fall, grandmother and child, with an enthusiastic dog, walk the shore and forest to witness the cattails swelling, and animals like the Red-Winged Blackbird, Black Bear and Mallard, before picking orange mushrooms.

From Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know by Brittany Luby, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Winter comes and, with the hot cereal, warm coats and boots for the child and her grandmother, come the animals outdoors responding too. The Deer strip the cedar trees, the Mouse finds shelter inside and the Woodpecker, Blue Jay, and Fox do their own winter thing.

From Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know by Brittany Luby, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Finally comes spring with the black ice softening, the green shoots peeking out of the snow, a Gull roosting, the dog having puppies and the spring Peeper singing, "Good night, little one."

 

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know is such a sensory read of words and art. I may not be able to appreciate the Anishinaabemowin text (as translated by father and son Alvin Ted Corbiere and Alan Corbiere of M'Chigeeng First Nation) for its quality of sound and rhythms but Brittany Luby's words in English saturate the reader with the experience of being outdoors and savouring the textures and colours of the natural world in its transformations through the seasons. Whether she speaks of the plants or the animals, the weather or the sky, Brittany Luby, who is of Anishinaabe descent, draws us into the wholeness of the season, sharing its quietness and roar, subtlety or outburst, as nature chooses, as seen from a special intergenerational relationship.

When insects billow black from the trees,

and the sun slips into an orange dream.

The power of her words are matched wholeheartedly by the dynamic intensity of Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley's artwork. A member of Wasauksing First Nation, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley depicts the world of land and sky, animals and plants in a woodland style, digitally rendered with vibrant colours and shapes outlined with dark lines. The illustrations have a two-dimensional feel but are lush in form and hue that are both calming and energized, lending a naturalness to the story.

From Mii maanda exhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know by Brittany Luby, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

For those who understand Anishinaabemowin, there will be another layer of story to Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know to which I am not privy. Still, with only the English text and artwork accessible to me, Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This is How I Know is a triumph of art, literal and graphic, that invites readers to use all their senses to appreciate the splendour of nature through the seasons.