Kisēwātisi: Be Kindby Elizabeth Merasty, Illustrations by Brie Phillips, Woodland Cree Translations by Edie VennePublished by Your Nickle’s Worth Publishing (YNWP)Review by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781778690624 The simplest stories and actions sometimes have the deepest effect. Elizabeth Merasty’s new, beautifully illustrated children’s book, about simple acts of kindness, belie the deeper narrative of her mother’s stay at a residential school. As a child Merasty’s late mother, Catherine Conner (née Merasty), made the long journey, with her siblings, by boat from Pelican Narrows to the Sturgeon Landing Residential School in northern Saskatchewan. The book opens with an encounter told through the eyes of a child – Elizabeth – who is at the grocery store with her mother. Suddenly a woman appears, recognises her mother and hugs her with tears in her eyes. They begin to laugh and talk in Cree. Later, Elizabeth’s mother explains that they went to boarding school together and shared many experiences. She says it’s been almost 40 years since they went to school, but the woman was happy to see her because she remembers the kindness she experienced. “Be kind,” she tells her daughter. “You will never be sorry you were kind.” The soft-cover book is illustrated…

Li’l One – oskawasisby Treena WynesIllustrated by Olha TkachenkoTranslated by Charlotte RossPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Sally Meadows$19.95 ISBN 9781778690631 In the opening scene of Li’l One – oskawasis, a very pregnant woman looks up to the sky, arms wrapped around her belly, almost certainly daydreaming about her little one who will soon arrive. Gathered in the background, her extended family members smile with expectancy. This book is ostensibly about the birth of a child, but what really struck me was the emphasis on the significant role community–both people and natural setting–plays in welcoming a First Nations baby into the fold. This beautifully illustrated story is told with eager anticipation, as the entire family prepares for the child’s birth. We see key cultural elements of Cree-speaking peoples as grandparents lovingly craft a cradle board and moccasins, while aunties and uncles, respectively, bead regalia and hunt for the impending celebratory feast. We also see how nature–the birds, the wind, the trees, and the moon–extend a welcoming invitation to the baby soon to be born. The book is replete with lovely phrasing from author Treena Wynes including this one: “You’re a gift from Creator is what we are told, borrowed…

Webster the Smiling Dogby Traci DeckIllustrated by Maria DaghPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Sally Meadows$19.95 ISBN 9781778690594 Webster lives in a pet store where he and his siblings wait for their forever homes. First, his sister is adopted, then his brother. Other dogs, including two playful beagle puppies and two endearing cairn terriers come and go. Despite his sunny disposition, Webster is still at the shop five months after his arrival. Will Webster ever get the family he longs for? I couldn’t help smiling when I picked up my copy of Webster the Smiling Dog. With its bright yellow cover adorned with the face of an adorable, fluffy white pup, the book is visually appealing and will draw children (and those who read to them) to it, whether they long for a furry friend or are reminded of their own pet’s origin story. I appreciated how author Traci Deck highlighted the different kinds of adoptive families (ones with kids, couples, and singles) eager to welcome a new pet into their life. I can see this book being a favourite in classrooms and in the home, with a story kids will want to read over and over again. The…

A Fondness for the Reckless: A Ten Past Midnight Storyby Jennifer Jacoby-SmithPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Toby A. Welch  $24.95 ISBN 9781778690488 Life is busy and reading time often gets squeezed between laundry cycles and those last minutes before sleep takes a hold of me. That’s my reality, even as a book nerd. But all that – my day job, the house chores, even my gym classes – came to a screeching halt when I picked up A Fondness for the Reckless. I couldn’t put this entertaining book down! You don’t have to be interested in the music industry – I’m not – to fall into Indie’s fascinating world. The book follows him from a boy with big dreams of being a music star to someone actually living the life: recording, performing, navigating the personalities of a boy band, and figuring out who he is and what he wants. The details of the journey are crisp and surprisingly addictive.  A Fondness for the Reckless jumps all over the place in terms of timelines. We meet present-day Indie in 2016 as he jets off to secure a music deal. We rewind to 2009 and 2010, when he is a teen sneaking into…

On the Hunt for William Hallett: Discovering a Forgotten Métis Leaderby Audrhea LandePublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Toby A. Welch  $29.95 ISBN 9781778690525 A nearly forgotten figure from Métis history has come alive! On the Hunt for William Hallett drew me in initially because of its beautiful cover: a man galloping across the plains on horseback, a rifle in one hand, a buffalo running alongside. The image pulled me in but the vivid writing and fascinating storyline kept me hooked. I had never heard of William Hallett, but I assumed that he was an interesting fellow if someone penned a book about him; after all he has been dead over a century. A sworn enemy of Louis Riel, Hallett called himself “a loyal half-breed of the Red River settlement.” He was born in 1811 to a mother of the Blood (Kainai) tribe, which was part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He went on to do unforgettable things. Author Audrhea Lande summed Hallett up better than I could: “A man who loved the wild prairies and knew them intimately. A man connected to the original people of the plains. A man who spoke up for justice and fair treatment. A man of great stamina and endurance….

Ways to Go: Rediscovering Travel as told through Two Himalaya Adventures – 1971 and 2023Edited by Bob Henderson and Torbjørn YdegaardPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$29.95 ISBN 9781778690549 In most mountaineering exploits that I’ve read or heard about, the point always seems to be about reaching the summit – and the blood, sweat and tears involved to get there. Ways to Go explores a completely different approach. How can we travel more intentionally and responsibly with less impact on the world around us? The book is shaped around a particular journey. In 1971, three Norwegian mountaineers – Arne Næss, Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng, and Nils Faarlund – embarked on an expedition to the Sherpa community of Beding, Nepal, located in the Rolwaling Valley near the sacred mountain of Tseringma. The men were scholars, philosophers and activists and their perspective was vastly different to most of the mountaineers of their day. They weren’t interested in simply forging ahead to reach the summit of a sacred mountain regardless of the wishes of the local community. They had a more focused, thoughtful approach – and they decided theirs would be an anti-expedition. Ways to Go explores the development of eco-mountaineering and…

Transforming Pain into Purpose: My Story of Mental Illness, Addiction & Redemptionby Allan KehlerPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Toby A. Welch  $19.95 ISBN 9781778690495 Everyone you meet is going through something. Everyone has a story. Those are two facts I try to focus on when I meet people. Transforming Pain into Purpose is a literary reminder of that – you never know what struggles someone is trying to survive.  I couldn’t put Transforming Pain into Purpose down; I devoured it in one sitting. (It’s a medium length book, clocking in at 130 pages including the resources at the back.) Kehler’s story kept me drawn in from the first chapter. What an interesting journey he has been through! His life has been touched by sexual abuse, alcoholism, anxiety, manic episodes, self-harm, depression, loneliness, gambling, suicide, shame, and bipolar disorder, among other things. A romantic at heart, I loved reading about how Kehler met his now-wife, a strong, compelling woman named Tanya. I won’t spoil the story for you but I will say they didn’t meet on a dating app like most couples these days. Kehler’s writing is simple yet powerful. He conveys what he is trying to say with as few words as possible…

Sticks & Bones: Haiku and Senryuby Allison Douglas-TournerPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$19.95 ISBN 9781778690433 I’m fond of image-based poetry, and it’s one reason I enjoy reading poems written as haiku and senryu. Likely you remember haiku from school days: in its traditional form, it’s a three-line, seventeen-syllable nature-based poem with a five-seven-five syllable count. It conveys a single moment in which the poet suddenly sees or realizes something. An aha! moment, if you will. Senryu is similarly structured, but it’s more concerned with human nature and often contains irony or satire. Both forms originated in Japan, and both are unrhymed. Victoria, BC’s Allison Douglas-Tourner recently released a lovely collection, Sticks & Bones: Haiku and Senryu, which reminded me of why I enjoy these concise forms so much. It’s easy to find inspiration from the natural world on Vancouver Island, and she explains that the island’s “beaches, woods, and meadows” have long been inspiring her. Ravens, those busy gatherers of “sticks and bones,” have also stirred her to write, and the attractive cover image of her small, square-shaped book features a single raven with twigs in its beak. There’s one page-centred poem per page with ample…

The Day My Mother Walked on Waterby Helen MourrePublished by Your Nickels Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781778690389 This slim collection of essays is my first encounter with prairie writer Helen Mourre’s work, and I was quickly captivated by her thoughtful and detailed descriptions of a life well lived. I consciously slowed down as I read through the essays in The Day My Mother Walked on Water, partly because I didn’t want them to end but also because I wanted to savour each word picture and ponder Mourre’s musings on faith, family, and the seasons of life. The essays are firmly grounded in Saskatchewan– even those that take place elsewhere are still solidly tethered to the province. In each essay Mourre slows us down to a particular place and time and gives us snapshots of her life through the years. On the beach of a northern lake as a child where she nearly drowned, traveling to Hungary with her husband Paul to visit their son, adventuring with friends to Italy, the poignant last few months of her father’s life and, in the final essay, contemplating her new reality as her husband enters the beginning stages of dementia. Mourre’s stories…

A Clear Christmas Eveby Coreen Bannerholt; Illustrated by Olha TkachenkoPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing|Review by Sally Meadows$19.95 ISBN 9781778690464 “On a clear Christmas Eve, the softly falling snow lay gentle as a blanket on the festive scene below.” Thus begins a brand-new holiday story, A Clear Christmas Eve, with a charming twist on the traditional night before Christmas story that hints at deeper spiritual truths. This lovely story is a must read for children-and those who read to them-and is destined to become a holiday classic. It is Christmas Eve, and Santa’s reindeer are raring to get on their way to fulfill their mission of sharing gifts around the world. Despite weather challenges and an unplanned stop, the reindeer press on in unison for their communal goal of spreading joy from east to west. Finally, with their assignment completed, Santa and his reindeer disappear into the night with the faith, hope, love, peace, and goodwill foundational to the real Christmas story lingering on. I adore how author Coreen Bannerholt bestows a unique personality and role to each reindeer. Their camaraderie as they work together to accomplish the greater purpose of spreading love and care over the entire world is endearing….