Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  A girl learns from her grandmother how to find food in nature: herring eggs and seaweed from the ocean and most of all, berries from the forest.  They list them as they go: blueberry, cranberry, soapberry, cloudberry. They sing and give thanks–gunalchéesh in the Tlingit language–to the Earth for providing food.  Back at home, the whole family pitches in to make a feast from the berries: huckleberry pie, strawberry crisp, jellies, and jams.  Seasons come and go, and on the last page the girl is leading her younger sister to the forest to teach her about gathering berries.  Includes a two-page author’s note about her Tlingit heritage and giving further information about each part of Grandmother’s wisdom: we speak to the land and the land speaks to us; we take care of the land and the land takes care of us; we are part of the land the and the land is part of us.  The berries are shown in photos with their Tlingit names and on the endpapers with both Tlingit and English identification.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Caldecott medalist Michaela Goade will surely be considered for more awards to honor this gorgeous book that celebrates her Tlingit heritage and stewardship of the Earth.

Cons:  After the mouthwatering descriptions of foods made from all the different berries, I would have enjoyed a recipe.

August 4, 2022 at 05:22PM Janet Dawson