Sheyenne Jumbo and Mindy Willett, photography by Tessa Mcintosh,
Come and Learn with Me / Éwo,séh Kedidih (The Land is Our Storybook Series)
Fifth House Publishers, 2010.
Rating: E*
Come and Learn with Me / Ééwo,séh Kedidih is written by nine year old Sheyenne Jumbo and Mindy Willett, an educational consultant from Yellowknife. Sheyenne lives in Sambaa K’e (Trout Lake) a small community in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories. Sheyenne takes us through two weeks in the fall, Cultural Days, in the season of the moose. Readers meet Sheyenne’s family, visit her town, her friends, her school, and learn how important moose is to the community, the laws of the Dene, and even how to make a paper berry basket.
Come and Learn with Me is the fourth book in a series entitled The Land is Our Storybook. Each of the books focuses on one of the ten official Aboriginal language groups of the North West Territories. The series takes a child centred approach. Mindy works with an individual of each community and Tessa photographs the people, the activities, the landscape, flora and fauna of the area.
Readers would be hard pressed to find a book of better quality whether it be for information, text, illustrations, layout, photography or overall presentation. The text is well written and informative. The text is enhanced by maps, glossary, sidebars, graphics and stunning photography. Information included varies from O Canada written in Dene Yatie to the process of preparing the moose hide, to the history and production of spruce-root containers, to descriptions of medicinal plants. All of this information is held together by Sheyenne’s description of her daily life. Children of the south will have no trouble relating to Sheyanne. She and her friend Katrina "…love to run around town, go camping, play at the beach, roast marshmallows, make forts and build sandcastles." Robert Munsch once visited her school and she likes to write in her journal and also write stories. Sheyenne lives in a modern world where the traditions of her people continue on.
This book is recommended for both school and public libraries. The book is also recommended as a text book for any Grades 3-7 class that includes studies of northern Canada, of community and aboriginal studies, and Canadian culture.
Thematic Links: Northwest Territories; Sambaa K’e Dene Band; Autumn; Harvesting
Laura Reilly
Vol. 15, number 4
April 2010
*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.
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Reviews from Resource Link, Canada
