From Booklist
With beautiful, thickly brushed paintings by an award-winning Cree artist, this bilingual picture book breaks with the formula of the wise elder teaching the contemporary kid to respect the old ways. Here, a boy asks Nokum (Grandma) why he has to leave the reservation to go to school and learn to read: "Do you think the white world's meant for me? / You know how hard that life can be." Does she think the whites care about Cree culture? She answers with questions that make him think about how reading can help him learn to see his own story as part of the wider world. A Cree translation is side by side with the spare English poem on every double-page spread, and a CD reading is included, with music by the Northern Cree drumming group. The art, including close-ups and panoramic scenes of Cree life through seasons and generations, shows the heartfelt bond between the boy and his beloved mentor as well as the richness of Cree life, past and present.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"With beautiful, thickly brushed paintings by an award-winning Cree artist, this bilingual picture book breaks with the formula of the wise elder teaching the contemporary kid to respect the old ways. Here, a boy asks Nokum (Grandma) why he has to leave the reservation to go to school and learn to read. . . The art, including close-ups and panoramic scenes of Cree life through seasons and generations, shows the heartfelt bond between the boy and his beloved mentor as well as the richness of Cree life, past and present."
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Booklist"David Bouchard is firmly established as one of Canada's finest storytellers, and he further enhances his reputation with this book. . .
Bouchard skillfully captures the sense of disillusionment and irrelevance that many children attach to the task of learning to read. . .
Allen Sapp's oil on canvas illustrations are richly textured and lend much to the lyrical text. Sapp is a Cree Elder, and his exterior winter scenes are especially powerful in capturing the harshness of the northern winter and in reflecting the hardiness required of a People who for centuries have survived in such challenging surroundings. . .
The textual pages are divided into two columns, with the text in one column presented in English and, in the other column, in the Cree language. Even for English-only readers such as me, the presence of the Cree text adds to the appeal, authenticity and educative potential of the book. . .
A bilingual English and Cree audio recording is enclosed. The Compact Disc contains a reading of the story in English, then Cree, to the accompaniment of the aboriginal drumming group, Northern Cree. . . Their participation in this collaboration caps off what represents the fruit of some of Canada's finest creative talent."
Recommended.
-- CM Magazine
"The universal themes of validating education and receiving guidance from elder family members will resonate with elementary school-age children. The authentic Cree voice, artwork, and music, provide a taste of the native culture in a context that unites the concerns of children across time and place. This book will be well-received for the value of its story as well its celebration of the identity of one of North America's First Nations."
-- Foreword Magazine
"Illustrated with Cree artist Allen Sapp's very fine paintings, which beautifully animate an old way of life. . . The dialogue between the grandson and his Nokum is an interestingly enigmatic one, in part because it is unclear whether the boy is summoning up the spirit of his departed Nokum. Does she exist in the flesh or is she a treasured memory? Nokum's responses to her grandson's questions are enigmatic as well; she offers not answers so much as more questions for him to consider."
-- The Globe and Mail
"David Bouchard's Nokum is My Teacher is a stunning picture book."
-- The Star Phoenix (Saskatoon)
