Nipêhon / I Wait

Starred review from July 15, 2017
Spare, bilingual text written in Cree (in both the standard Roman orthography and in syllabics) and in English presents a multigenerational harvesting of wild yarrow.The first-person narration tells readers that a little girl and her mother await Nohkom (Cree for "my grandmother") as she prepares to harvest yarrow flowers and leaves. Accompanying illustrations rendered in acrylics on canvas depict the girl and both women and then follow them as they venture out into the fields, accompanied by a brown-and-white dog that's unmentioned in the text. The palette is gentle and the style soft, with art that invites contemplative engagement in this small moment of family togetherness. In three separate full-page illustrations, each worker prays, then the work begins. "Nohkom picks. / I pick." But--"Mom?" The book catches Mom in a playful moment, blowing at a yarrow puff. Daughter and grandmother wait for her. When the narrator pronounces the task "done!" her face is utterly overtaken by delight. Although the book ends with pictures of the girl and women with the flowers in the fields, backmatter provides a simple recipe for yarrow tea, often used medicinally, which suggests the reason for their harvest. A quiet, gentle picture book about a contemporary First Nations family and their ties to one another, their heritage, and their homeland. (Picture book. 2-6)

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July 1, 2018
As nthkom (grandmother), mother, and daughter work together to pick wild yarrow for tea, the connections between tradition, prayer, and everyday life are evident in striking full-page acrylic paintings on canvas. The understated story of multi-generational togetherness is told in primer-like sentences written in two Cree formats (roman orthography and syllabics) and in English. A recipe for yarrow tea is appended.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)