MII Maanda Ezhi-Gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know: Niibing, Dgwaagig, Bboong, Mnookmig Dbaadjigaade Maanpii Mzin'igning / A Book about the Seasons

An Anishinaabe child and her grandmother explore the natural wonders of each season in this lyrical, bilingual story-poem.

In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings.

We accompany them through warm summer days full of wildflowers, bees and blueberries, then fall, when bears feast before hibernation and forest mushrooms are ripe for harvest. Winter mornings begin in darkness as deer, mice and other animals search for food, while spring brings green shoots poking through melting snow and the chirping of peepers.

Brittany Luby and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley have created a book inspired by childhood memories of time spent with Knowledge Keepers, observing and living in relationship with the natural world in the place they call home -- the northern reaches of Anishinaabewaking, around the Great Lakes.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

Publisher: Groundwood Books
Published: 03/02/2021
Pages: 44
Weight: 0.74lbs
Size: 8.90h x 8.60w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781773063263
Age: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2021
School Library Journal 03/12/2021 pg. 1
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2021 pg. 88

About the Author
Luby, Brittany: -

Brittany Luby, of Anishinaabe descent, was raised on Treaty #3 Lands in what is now known as northwestern Ontario. She is an assistant professor of history at the University of Guelph and an award-winning researcher who seeks to stimulate public discussion of Indigenous issues through her work. Her debut picture book, Encounter, illustrated by Michaela Goade, received wide acclaim. Brittany currently lives on Dish with One Spoon Territory.

Pawis-Steckley, Joshua Mangeshig: - Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley is an Ojibwe woodland artist and a member of Wasauksing First Nation. His work aims to reclaim and promote traditional Ojibwe stories and teachings in a contemporary woodland style. He works mainly in acrylics, digital illustration and screen-printing, and has had several solo art exhibitions across Turtle Island. This is his first picture book. Joshua spends his time living between Vancouver and Wasauksing First Nation.