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geekwayne's review against another edition
3.0
'The Chief Mistahimaskwa' by David Alexander Roberson with art by Scott B. Henderson tells the story of a Cree chief of the Saskatchewan Plains in a graphic novel format. It succeeds and fails on a few different levels.
There is a framing story about a girl named Sarah who has lost a book after an encounter with a bear. She later finds it and is taken into a living history version of the story in the book. We learn about Mistahimaskwa from the time he is little, all the way to his death. It's a good story, if an all too typical one. Food sources and land taken by settlers. That's not to say this isn't a story that needs to be told. Just that it is a sad one. Sarah is whisked out of her book adventure to pass it along to someone else in the class that might benefit.
I do like that this was presented as a graphic novel, but it feels like an educational book, meaning the facts presented feel dry sometimes. The art is a good average. The whole thing feels a bit like the old Classics Illustrated books, and that's not a condemnation. I just wish this sort of material were able to somehow be elevated a bit. I appreciated learning about this historical figure, and hopefully retelling this story will cause reflection.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Portage & Main Press, Highwater Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
There is a framing story about a girl named Sarah who has lost a book after an encounter with a bear. She later finds it and is taken into a living history version of the story in the book. We learn about Mistahimaskwa from the time he is little, all the way to his death. It's a good story, if an all too typical one. Food sources and land taken by settlers. That's not to say this isn't a story that needs to be told. Just that it is a sad one. Sarah is whisked out of her book adventure to pass it along to someone else in the class that might benefit.
I do like that this was presented as a graphic novel, but it feels like an educational book, meaning the facts presented feel dry sometimes. The art is a good average. The whole thing feels a bit like the old Classics Illustrated books, and that's not a condemnation. I just wish this sort of material were able to somehow be elevated a bit. I appreciated learning about this historical figure, and hopefully retelling this story will cause reflection.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Portage & Main Press, Highwater Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
elizabethlk's review against another edition
4.0
This isn't my favourite thing I've read by David Alexander Robertson, but this is my favourite thing I've read about Mistahimaska.
I love stories where kids get to experience history coming to life, and Robertson and Henderson really nail this here. The storytelling is great and the art is great. It jumps around a bit too much towards the beginning in a way that had me pausing a couple times, but I recognise that this is because the early years of Mistahimaskwa's life weren't recorded in detail.
Overall I did enjoy this, and I look forward to reading the rest of the Tales from Big Spirit series (especially the books about figures I am less familiar with).
I love stories where kids get to experience history coming to life, and Robertson and Henderson really nail this here. The storytelling is great and the art is great. It jumps around a bit too much towards the beginning in a way that had me pausing a couple times, but I recognise that this is because the early years of Mistahimaskwa's life weren't recorded in detail.
Overall I did enjoy this, and I look forward to reading the rest of the Tales from Big Spirit series (especially the books about figures I am less familiar with).
carroq's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This one is pretty short. It tells the history of the Indian chief Mistahimaskwa. A girl's book is struck by lightning and the chief's story comes out of it for her to see. So, the way that she gets to see the story unfold is a little out there given that the rest of the story seems to be fairly historical.
The chief is an impressive person. He is strong and brave, surviving situations that would overcome other people. It goes through his whole life, which felt abbreviated at times because of how short the book is. I think this could have been expanded, though maybe it would have required more embellishment on behalf of the creators.
For what it is, the story is good. It just didn't wow me in any particular way. Even the art is acceptable rather than outstanding.
This one is pretty short. It tells the history of the Indian chief Mistahimaskwa. A girl's book is struck by lightning and the chief's story comes out of it for her to see. So, the way that she gets to see the story unfold is a little out there given that the rest of the story seems to be fairly historical.
The chief is an impressive person. He is strong and brave, surviving situations that would overcome other people. It goes through his whole life, which felt abbreviated at times because of how short the book is. I think this could have been expanded, though maybe it would have required more embellishment on behalf of the creators.
For what it is, the story is good. It just didn't wow me in any particular way. Even the art is acceptable rather than outstanding.
jmanchester0's review
4.0
It's hard for me to read books about indigenous peoples and not feel like it's wrong to own land.
How do you take something previously unowned (and used freely by all) and decide to own it? At best it's theft. At worst it's a god complex leading to genocide.
But it's important for people to remember things that actually happened.
This is from a series of graphic novels for middle schoolers about indigenous Americans from Canada's history. This one tells the story of Cree chief Mistahimaskwa.
Worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and Portage and Main Press for a copy in return for an honest review.
How do you take something previously unowned (and used freely by all) and decide to own it? At best it's theft. At worst it's a god complex leading to genocide.
But it's important for people to remember things that actually happened.
This is from a series of graphic novels for middle schoolers about indigenous Americans from Canada's history. This one tells the story of Cree chief Mistahimaskwa.
Worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and Portage and Main Press for a copy in return for an honest review.
missdalope's review
5.0
Absolutely amazing. I loved everything about it. From the artwork to the very history lessons. It was nice getting to learn about one of the many Indigenous figures from Canadian history. Not only was this very educational, the phenomenal artwork made it very engaging and entertaining as well. Would recommend for everyone especially the younger generation.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
elizabethlk's review
4.0
This isn't my favourite thing I've read by David Alexander Robertson, but this is my favourite thing I've read about Mistahimaska.
I love stories where kids get to experience history coming to life, and Robertson and Henderson really nail this here. The storytelling is great and the art is great. It jumps around a bit too much towards the beginning in a way that had me pausing a couple times, but I recognise that this is because the early years of Mistahimaskwa's life weren't recorded in detail.
Overall I did enjoy this, and I look forward to reading the rest of the Tales from Big Spirit series (especially the books about figures I am less familiar with).
I love stories where kids get to experience history coming to life, and Robertson and Henderson really nail this here. The storytelling is great and the art is great. It jumps around a bit too much towards the beginning in a way that had me pausing a couple times, but I recognise that this is because the early years of Mistahimaskwa's life weren't recorded in detail.
Overall I did enjoy this, and I look forward to reading the rest of the Tales from Big Spirit series (especially the books about figures I am less familiar with).
holmesstorybooks's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this!
It's definitely written for middle grade kids in mind, so if reading YA is not your thing, I would give this a miss. I would definitely check it out if you are a teacher or are interested in teaching. As a preservice teacher I am always looking for ways to teach new content and I am certainly on the lookout for diverse material that presents multiple perspectives.
I was pleased with this, I thought the formatting would be interesting for a middle grade student who needed to learn about this particular time period in history. The graphic novel contained quite a few details, maps, dates and names of places that you could look up and research later if you wanted to.
I loved the main protagonist although I was a bit sad that the girl introduced in the first part of the story didn't have a stronger role or didn't react more to the story? I think she was a really good platform for the reader because this young girl is a modern character, so it's a little bit disappointing that she didn't have more interaction with the text?
Nicely done, I'll keep this in mind for my classroom. C:
Thanks Netgalley, for allowing me to read it in exchange for an honest review.
It's definitely written for middle grade kids in mind, so if reading YA is not your thing, I would give this a miss. I would definitely check it out if you are a teacher or are interested in teaching. As a preservice teacher I am always looking for ways to teach new content and I am certainly on the lookout for diverse material that presents multiple perspectives.
I was pleased with this, I thought the formatting would be interesting for a middle grade student who needed to learn about this particular time period in history. The graphic novel contained quite a few details, maps, dates and names of places that you could look up and research later if you wanted to.
I loved the main protagonist although I was a bit sad that the girl introduced in the first part of the story didn't have a stronger role or didn't react more to the story? I think she was a really good platform for the reader because this young girl is a modern character, so it's a little bit disappointing that she didn't have more interaction with the text?
Nicely done, I'll keep this in mind for my classroom. C:
Thanks Netgalley, for allowing me to read it in exchange for an honest review.
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