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cweichel's review against another edition
4.0
This charming story tells us about a young girl, who in the process of delivering her grandmother's world famous bannock, accidentally drops it in the river. Lucky for her different animals give her the ingredients to make another batch. I like that Cree is used through every book and that there is pronunciation guide in the back matter. There is also a bannock recipe.
renee_b's review against another edition
4.0
This is a charming little book about a girl who accidentally drops her grandmother's bannock into a river while skipping through the forest. She asks animals in the forest if they can help her find more bannock, but instead they each give her an ingredient to make bannock with. She goes back to her grandmother's house and her grandmother teaches her how to make bannock with the ingredients she got.
I loved the illustrations in this book, they were friendly and adorable. I especially liked the shy bear who shows up in every picture watching the girl, only to make a surprise appearance at her grandmother's house at the end. The book also introduces readers to the Cree language, as all of the animals and ingredients referred to by their Cree name. One small detail that I loved: The owl in the book was introduced using gender-neutral pronouns.
First heard of this book on the blog
American Indians in Children's Literature This book is #ownvoices
I loved the illustrations in this book, they were friendly and adorable. I especially liked the shy bear who shows up in every picture watching the girl, only to make a surprise appearance at her grandmother's house at the end. The book also introduces readers to the Cree language, as all of the animals and ingredients referred to by their Cree name. One small detail that I loved: The owl in the book was introduced using gender-neutral pronouns.
First heard of this book on the blog
American Indians in Children's Literature This book is #ownvoices
dytiscusfriend's review
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
elizabethlk's review
4.0
Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock is another sweet and charming picture book coming from HighWater Press, one of my personal favourite publishers. I believe that this is Dallas Hunt's first book, but after reading this I would certainly read anything he put out in the future. I would also be willing to read anything illustrated by Amanda Strong, as her work here is lovely.
The story here is a unique interpretation of the "Red Riding Hood" fairy tale, with Awâsis losing bannock that she tries to replace with the help of animal friends, only to find herself collecting replacement ingredients instead. The story is sweet, but the language aspects here really shine, with Cree words and phrases being used on every page, many of them being identifiable by context or by the accompanying illustrations. The words and phrases have a translation and pronunciation guide in the back, which is extremely helpful for anyone unfamiliar or unfluent in the language. I thought the recipe included was a nice touch, and it appears to be easy to follow.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid Red Riding Hood retelling for kids, and to anyone (child or adult) interested in learning Cree or practicing Cree language skills. It is also simply a colourful and sweet story for anyone looking for a story to read with children in need of a good book.
The story here is a unique interpretation of the "Red Riding Hood" fairy tale, with Awâsis losing bannock that she tries to replace with the help of animal friends, only to find herself collecting replacement ingredients instead. The story is sweet, but the language aspects here really shine, with Cree words and phrases being used on every page, many of them being identifiable by context or by the accompanying illustrations. The words and phrases have a translation and pronunciation guide in the back, which is extremely helpful for anyone unfamiliar or unfluent in the language. I thought the recipe included was a nice touch, and it appears to be easy to follow.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid Red Riding Hood retelling for kids, and to anyone (child or adult) interested in learning Cree or practicing Cree language skills. It is also simply a colourful and sweet story for anyone looking for a story to read with children in need of a good book.
azuki's review
5.0
Highly recommended! This #OwnVoices picture book, written in Cree and English, is outstanding. When Awâsis is sent to deliver her grandmother's delicious bannock to a relative's home, she accidentally drops the prized food as she skips across a bridge. Awâsis turns to animals in the forest for help: do they know where she can find some bannock? None of the creatures know, but each offers a bannock ingredient to help Awâsis along her way. Author Dallas Hunt's (Swan River First Nation) creative storytelling keeps the protagonist's interactions fresh. Notably, Hunt uses the singular "they" pronoun for Ôhô (the sleepy owl) and demonstrates equitable, intentional relationships between people and non-human beings. Contains a recipe for bannock, as well as a pronunciation guide for the Cree words that are seamlessly untranslated and un-italicized in the text.
shan88's review
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
tashrow's review
5.0
When Awâsis accidentally loses her grandmother’s world-famous bannock as she is taking them to a relative, she starts to cry. When a duck hears her crying, the duck offers to help and gives her some tohtosapopimehkan or butter. A rabbit in the woods offers her some flour or askipahkwesikan. As Awâsis walks on, more animals offer her ingredients to make the bannock again. Readers will see a bear lingering nearby and wonder about what he is up to. When Awâsis returns home to her grandmother, she is still missing one key ingredient for the perfect bannock. Who will provide it?
Hunt skillfully integrates Cree words into his tale about a Cree girl, her grandmother and the animals who help her. In the author’s note, he also mentions that the story celebrates traditional indigenous storytelling methods and readers will notice the strong structure of the story and the way it reads aloud beautifully. A pronunciation guide and glossary of Cree words is provided as well as the recipe for world-famous bannock. The illustrations have a lovely softness to them that invites readers into a forest filled with helpful animals.
A marvelous picture book celebrating the Cree language, storytelling and food. Appropriate for ages 2-4.
Hunt skillfully integrates Cree words into his tale about a Cree girl, her grandmother and the animals who help her. In the author’s note, he also mentions that the story celebrates traditional indigenous storytelling methods and readers will notice the strong structure of the story and the way it reads aloud beautifully. A pronunciation guide and glossary of Cree words is provided as well as the recipe for world-famous bannock. The illustrations have a lovely softness to them that invites readers into a forest filled with helpful animals.
A marvelous picture book celebrating the Cree language, storytelling and food. Appropriate for ages 2-4.
librarianryan's review
4.0
This story is very sweet. A little girl is to take some bannock (a type of pastry) to a family friend, but she plays along the way and loses it. Her animal friends help by giving her the various ingredients. I love that this is a Native American language book. Many of the words are in Cree with no explanation until the end. The lovely illustrations help you figure out what ingredient and what animal is which Cree word, but thank goodness for the glossary at the end. I wish it would have included the english translations in the illustrations, or put the Cree word over the illustration so it was more exact. But overall it works. And I love that readers get a chance to learn native words and phrases.
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