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A review by elizabethlk
Lucy & Lola / When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! by Julie Flett, Monique Gray Smith, Tessa Macintosh, Richard Van Camp
5.0
I just finished reading this flipbook of two lower middle-grade novellas on reconciliation. One is Lucy & Lola by Monique Gray Smith, with illustrations by Julie Flett. The other is When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! By Richard Van Camp with photographs by Tessa Macintosh.
Both novellas (roughly ages 8+) are fantastic in their own ways with so much to offer readers of all ages (adults could benefit from this book as much as kids).
Lucy & Lola was really funny and cute while also being incredibly heartfelt. Lucy and Lola are twins, they are Cree, and they're spending the summer with their Kookum while their mother studies for the bar. The story shows them smudging, respecting the land they are on, respecting languages, and dealing with prejudice (including viewing the other side and witness a woman who thought she was open-minded deal with her own prejudicial views). They learn a bit of their mom's and Kookum's residential school stories. They visit the Witness Blanket. It is a touching story deeply rooted in the girls' culture, with moments of love and humour to lift the story up.
When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! was a bit darker in tone, but it was probably my favourite of the two. The story follows Dene Cho, a young Tłı̨chǫ Dené boy, who is constantly at trouble at school because they don't understand him and he doesn't understand why they aren't learning traditional Dené knowledge or Indigenous history at school. His principal challenges him to learn as much about culture as he can to give a presentation about the ways the school could incorporate that knowledge. Dene Cho turns to Elder Snowbird for help, and he learns drumming, songs, language, global warming, residential school history, and more. They also talk about Dene Cho's father, who died, and what a great leader he had been. Dene Cho learns that he can become a leader in all the areas he feels passionate and angry about, and that sometimes anger can lead you to fix what is wrong.
Both stories were fantastic and necessary Reads, although I think When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! will stay with me longer. I highly recommend both.
Both novellas (roughly ages 8+) are fantastic in their own ways with so much to offer readers of all ages (adults could benefit from this book as much as kids).
Lucy & Lola was really funny and cute while also being incredibly heartfelt. Lucy and Lola are twins, they are Cree, and they're spending the summer with their Kookum while their mother studies for the bar. The story shows them smudging, respecting the land they are on, respecting languages, and dealing with prejudice (including viewing the other side and witness a woman who thought she was open-minded deal with her own prejudicial views). They learn a bit of their mom's and Kookum's residential school stories. They visit the Witness Blanket. It is a touching story deeply rooted in the girls' culture, with moments of love and humour to lift the story up.
When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! was a bit darker in tone, but it was probably my favourite of the two. The story follows Dene Cho, a young Tłı̨chǫ Dené boy, who is constantly at trouble at school because they don't understand him and he doesn't understand why they aren't learning traditional Dené knowledge or Indigenous history at school. His principal challenges him to learn as much about culture as he can to give a presentation about the ways the school could incorporate that knowledge. Dene Cho turns to Elder Snowbird for help, and he learns drumming, songs, language, global warming, residential school history, and more. They also talk about Dene Cho's father, who died, and what a great leader he had been. Dene Cho learns that he can become a leader in all the areas he feels passionate and angry about, and that sometimes anger can lead you to fix what is wrong.
Both stories were fantastic and necessary Reads, although I think When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! will stay with me longer. I highly recommend both.