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This simple story in Cree and English explores a young child's relationship to his grandmother, or nôkhom, as they go for a walk in the woods to pick rosehips. The young boy follows his grandmother, walking, listening, picking, praying and eating, just as she does. In doing so, he absorbs the rich cultural traditions and values of his Cree heritage. Caitlin Dale Nicholson's acrylic-on-canvas illustrations portray the close relationship between the boy and his grandmother and the natural beauty of the bush. Her text has been translated into Cree by Leona Morin-Neilson, who was also the inspiration for niwîcihâw / ᓂᐄᐧᒋᐦᐋᐤ / I Help. Formerly titled Niwechihaw / I Help, this revised paperback edition features updated text, including Cree syllabics in addition to standard roman orthography and English.… (more)
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Echoing another reviewer, my sole complaint lies in the fact that there is no accompanying CD to help the reader pronounce the Cree words. Then again, I see on the dust-jacket that Leona Morin-Neilson teaches Cree at the "Power of Friendship" Aboriginal HeadStart program in Prince George, British Columbia, and get the sense that this is a book largely intended for Cree children themselves. Outsiders interested in hearing the sounds of Cree might want to pick up a copy of David Bouchard's recent bilingual English-Cree picture-book, The Drum Calls Softly, which does come with a CD.
Each 2-page spread shows grandmother doing something on one side and the child on the other. The same phrase is used for both, with the substitution of "I" for "Nokom", and the phrases are written in 3 languages, giving the reader the choice of which they read while exposing young people to the reality of other languages and alphabets existing in our world. There is no pronunciation guide, so if you are not from that culture you may want to also use some of the other available tri-lingual Cree books to help you read the Cree aloud.
I understand there is a series of these simple books, so we'll be looking for more of them.