Status
Available
Publication
Greystone Kids (2021), Edition: Bilingual, 48 pages
Library's review
Everyone loves to play! Award-winning author/illustrator Flett shares the joyful antics of young animals as they romp in much the same way as human children.
The rhythmic text offers both rich vocabulary and a page-turning chant. Woodland animals “hide and hop / and sniff and sneak” while
Simple text and bold, graphic illustrations celebrate our interconnection with the creatures who share our world. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)
-Kirkus Review
The rhythmic text offers both rich vocabulary and a page-turning chant. Woodland animals “hide and hop / and sniff and sneak” while
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Indigenous children, depicted in differing shades of brown, run, skip, jump, and hunt for butterflies. “We play too! kimêtawânaw mîna,” they proclaim in the refrain. Aquatic animals “swim and squirt / and bubble and bend” while children swim under the water and float on its surface, in inner tubes. On the prairie, snakes “slip and slide” through the grass while buffalo “rumble and roll.” And bears “wiggle and wobble” as both they and children play (in separate double-page spreads) in the snow. At last, “side by side, animals fall asleep,” and after a day full of fun, “we do too. nîstanân mîna.” The animals are not named within the primary text, leaving it to readers to identify the hopping bunnies, the spouting beluga whale calves, and the yawning wolf pups. Flett’s characteristically minimalist compositions are deceptively simple. Readers who slow down to look will be charmed by the cricket that hops in tandem with a rabbit and the fox that stares in bemusement at a turtle. This celebration of nature is sprinkled with words from the Cree language, and a closing glossary provides both Cree and English names of the animals depicted; a note provides guidance on Cree pronunciation for readers not familiar with the language.Simple text and bold, graphic illustrations celebrate our interconnection with the creatures who share our world. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)
-Kirkus Review
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Awards
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (Picture Books — 2021)
Bridge to Reading Picture Book Award (Nominee — 2023)
Mitten Award (Top Ten — 2022)
Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award (Ballot Selection — 2022)
Kids' Book Choice Awards (Finalist — 2022)
Best Books for Babies (Selection — 2022)
Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award (Finalist — 2022)
The White Ravens (2022)
CLEL Bell Picture Book Award for Early Literacy (Nominee — Play — 2022)
Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award (Shortlist — 2021)
CCBC Choices (2022)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (Picture Books — 2021)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Kids (Picture Books — 2021)
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
1771646071 / 9781771646079