The Buzz...About Books

Happy spring everyone! 

As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, one of my favourite things to do on a sunny spring day is to read a book under the shade of a tree. So refreshing!

This season, we're adding more titles to our collections. Here are just a few of the many new and upcoming books by Indigenous authors and illustrators that you can expect to find at the library this spring.

If you wish, borrow a few books from the library and find some shade of your own to enjoy reading them.

Please note: All book descriptions come directly from TPL's catalogue. Where possible, I have included the author's and illustrator's nation next to their name in brackets. 

Children 

Walking Together by Albert Marshall (Mi'kmaq) and Louise Zimanyi, illustrated by Emily Kewageshig (Anishinaabeg)

"This innovative picture book introduces readers to the concept of Etuaptmumk—or Two-Eyed Seeing in the Mi’kmaq language—as we follow a group of young children connecting to nature as their teacher."

This book is available to borrow now.

The Song That Called Them Home by David Robertson (Swampy Cree), illustrated by Maya McKibbin (Ojibwe, Yoeme)

"A picture book about two siblings who go on a strange, beautiful adventure while visiting with their grandfather."

This book is available to borrow now.

Poppa and his Drum: A Heartwarming Story on Truth and Reconciliation by Judith M. Doucette (Mi'kmaw), illustrated by Rebecca Reid (Mi'kmaw)

"After moving from an all-French Indigenous community to the English community of St. George's when he was a little boy, Poppa's life as a young man was very sad. He was treated badly by his schoolteachers and some other children in the town.

Years later, when his grandson wants to bring him into school to play his drum for the class, Poppa is nervous but goes anyway. He is relieved to see he is welcomed and even encouraged to share his knowledge of the traditions and customs of his Mi'kmaw culture."

This book will be available to borrow in late May.

Indigenous Ingenuity : A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge by Diedre Havrelock (Cree), illustrated by Edward Kay

"Spanning topics from transportation to civil engineering, hunting technologies, astronomy, brain surgery, architecture, and agriculture, Indigenous Ingenuity is a wide-ranging STEM offering that answers the call for Indigenous nonfiction by reappropriating hidden history. The book includes fun, simple activities and experiments that kids can do to better understand and enjoy the principles used by Indigenous inventors."

This book will be available to borrow in mid-May.

Teens

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline (Métis)

"Funeral Songs For Dying Girls is a young adult novel about an Indigenous girl who lives on the grounds of a cemetery with her widowed father."

This book is available to borrow now.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (Ojibwe)

"Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is – the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything."

This book will be available to borrow in mid-May.

Adults

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Mi'kmaq)

This book is available to borrow now!

"A stunning debut novel, The Berry Pickers is a riveting story about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time."

Curious to hear more about this book? Amanda Peters was recently in conversation with author Lisa Moore to discuss this book as a part of our Indigenous Celebrations Series.  Watch a replay of the event. 

Unbroken : My Story of Survival and My Fight for Justice and Hope for Indigenous Women and Girls by Angela Sterritt (Gitxsan)

"In her brilliant debut, Sterritt shares her memoir alongside investigative reporting into cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, showing how colonialism and racism led to a society where Sterritt struggled to survive as a young person, and where the lives of Indigenous women and girls are ignored and devalued."

This book will be available to borrow in late May.

Curious to hear more about this book? Join us in-person at the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon on May 31 at 7 pm to hear Angela Sterritt in conversation with artist and activist Sarain Fox. This is event is a part of the On Civil Society Series and the Indigenous Celebrations Series.

Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead : ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ Mamahtâwisiwin, Pakoseyimow, Nikihci-âniskotâpân by Wanda John-Kehewin (Cree)

"…an unflinching look at colonialism's sickening trail: its ongoing detriment to the safety and mental health of Indigenous people, its theft of language, and its intergenerational harms. But here also is the unrelenting power of resistance, and the great strength in truth. Wanda John-Kehewin "stands in her truth" so that other survivors may stand in theirs."

This book will be available to borrow in mid-May.

A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter (Métis)

"This extraordinary novel, told by a chorus of vividly realized, funny, wise, confused, struggling characters–including descendants of the bison that once freely roamed the land–heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction."

This book will be available to borrow in late May.