The Land Speaks

Written and illustrated by Jadyn Williams

Kegedonce Press 

978-1928120575

30 pp.

Ages 4–6

Releases October 24, 2026 

 

A walk with her Mosôm is more than a hike for this child. It is a spiritual bonding with an elder, with the land and the sky and the animals that will take her through the seasons and through her life. 

Illustration by Jadyn Williams from The Land Speaks, written by Jadyn Williams

At the beginning of each season, a child joins her Grandpa by visiting a special place next to a pond which is surrounded by trees. There he greets the land, including in Cree, and all its plants and animals and recognizes all that the land provides. By speaking to the land, he teaches her, they would show gratitude and respect. In contemplation, they listen, they see, they smell, and they feel. It is a spiritual mindfulness linked to the land.

When summer comes, together they greet the land and different animals and plants, continuing to show gratitude, just as they do in the fall.

Illustration by Jadyn Williams from The Land Speaks, written by Jadyn Williams

But when winter comes, she walks alone to their spot, along the winding trail. Still, she remembers what he taught, knowing that Mosôm is still with her. He is in the ground, in the trees, in the animals, and in the moon and the stars.

Illustration by Jadyn Williams from The Land Speaks, written by Jadyn Williams

Jadyn Williams, an author-illustrator of Cree and settler mixed ancestry, shows her appreciation and gratitude for the teachings of her own Mosôm with The Land Speaks. It is a story of remembrance and respect, of identity and of culture. And, most of all, it is a story of family.

The most precious gift the land shares with us is that it is our relative. Our ancestors speak to us through it, reminding us they are always near. (pg. 24)

Jadyn Williams embeds that recognition in her art as well as in her words. Her words are warm with tribute and attention to what she has learned, to what Mosôm says, and to the land. When the land speaks, she listens. And her digital art, which has a folk-art appeal, emphasizes the bold colours and the personal connection between child and elder and between people and the land. By taking the reader to the same location through the seasons, both with the child's Mosôm and without, Jadyn Williams takes us on a temporal journey, one of connection and of mindfulness. This child may use that which her Mosôm taught her to help deal with loss, but it also demonstrates blessing that he shared with her.

 

This is my first review of a title from Kegedonce Press. Kegedonce is an Indigenous-owned and operated publishing house based at Neyaashiinigmiing on the traditional territory of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. I was delighted by the powerful storytelling in words and art of The Land Speaks. If this what we can expect from this publisher as well as this author-illustrator, I see more reviews of their books on this blog.