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….

The Lake in the Middle of Townby Neil Sawatzky; Illustrated by Julio SalazarPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Sally Meadows$24.95 ISBN 9781778690402 When you do a Google search for things to see in Regina, Saskatchewan, Wascana Park consistently comes up in the top five. With easy access to other popular tourist attractions such as the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and the Mackenzie Art Gallery, Wascana Park shines as a beautiful green space surrounding picturesque Wascana Lake. Residents and tourists alike marvel at its beauty. But what is the history behind this “sparkling gem in the Queen City’s crown?” An updated, hardcover, 20th anniversary edition of The Lake in the Middle of Town dives into this question both as an easy-to-read poem perfect for inter-generational snuggles and with sidebar information for older children and adults who want to dig deeper into the lake’s fascinating history. Although I didn’t grow up in Saskatchewan, my mother was born in Regina, so this book really opened my eyes up to the historical depth and breadth of this iconic area in Saskatchewan’s capital in a personal way. From its Indigenous roots to the first appearance of settlers to the establishment and…

Where’s Johnny?: The Tale of a Lost Catby Lori Burton, Illustrated by Wendi NordellPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Sally Meadows$19.95 ISBN 9781778690419 Johnny, the big Maine Coon cat, had a perfect life. He was well loved by his family of four, and he loved them back. But when Johnny and his family move to a new neighbourhood, it sets off a chain of events that none of them could have seen coming. As a house cat, Johnny was used to being inside all the time. But curiosity gets the best of him in his new surroundings. When Mom removes a window screen to clean it, Johnny sees his chance. He jumps onto the windowsill and out the window, eager to experience his first taste of freedom. His elation is short-lived. Within seconds, Big Dog comes bounding towards him and chases Johnny right out of the neighbourhood. Johnny soon realizes he is completely lost. What ensues is a long journey with unexpected twists and turns as Johnny tries to get back to the people he loves. Along the way he meets a cast of diverse characters, both human and animal—some kind and others not—as he navigates challenging, even perilous,…

ABC…Yes, You Can!by Florence Mudzongo, illustrated by Josiah TaundiPublished by Your Nickel Worth’s PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781778690372 While it is addressed to Black girls, ABC…Yes, You Can! is a gorgeous book that feels like a gift to little girls everywhere. In simple ABC format, it highlights a huge variety of careers and encourages little girls to dream big dreams. The careers cover a huge range, from aeronautical engineer, to DJ and speech pathologist to truck driver. Best of all, it spotlights specific women in each particular field – all of whom are of African descent. Even though I was born and brought up in South Africa, there are so many names that I didn’t recognise, names such as world-class aeronautical engineer, Winifred Byanyima from Uganda and Clémentine Zeregbe Goli, the only female heavy-duty truck driver from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. The book also includes women such as Sahle-Work Zewede, president of Ethiopia, legendary South African musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka and biologist Dr. Wangari Maathai from Kenya who was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. There are also women from America and Canada such as web developer Sofia Ongele, who created her first award-winning…

A Ticket to the Grand Show: Journeys Across Cultural Boundariesby Neil McKinnonPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Toby A. Welch  $29.95 ISBN 9781778690235 Wow! What a fascinating book! I didn’t even need to dig into chapter one to get hooked; the introduction itself sucked me right in and I couldn’t put A Ticket to the Grand Show down.  McKinnon is insistent that this is not a travel book, more like a story collection of cultural experiences in his life. But I loved reading about the places he visited and the encounters he had in them. The book is more about the culture in the places he traveled to than a list of things to do. “Culture” is a multi-layered concept that cannot be adequately explored in a brief five hundred words. It means different things to different people. Culture is often a deeply buried belief that someone may not even consciously be aware of having. A Ticket to the Grand Show is broken into five parts, each one detailing a geographic location: China, Japan, Mexico, Hawaii, and Canada. Some of McKinnon’s experiences took place decades ago but under his skillful hand, they feel like they happened yesterday.  While I enjoyed reading all five parts, my favourite was…

Tanning Moosehides the Northern Saskatchewan Trapline Way: An Easy Step-by-Step GuideWritten by Tommy Bird, Lawrence Adam, Lena Adam, with Miriam KörnerPhotos by Miriam Körner and Tommy BirdPublished by YNWPReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$49.95 ISBN 9781778690327 In these modern times, when we want information our “Go To” is usually to Google or Youtube it. If one wanted to learn to tan moosehides, for example, they could indeed go online to discover how, but some steps might be missed. If tanning moosehides is indeed your intent, now there’s an excellent resource that you can hold in your hands or spread on a table: Tanning Moosehides the Northern Saskatchewan Trapline Way: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide. The softcover guidebook by northern Saskatchewan residents Tommy Bird, Lawrence Adam, Lena Adam, and award-winning La Ronge writer Miriam Körner takes readers through the twenty-four steps involved in the time-consuming process of tanning moosehides, “a skill passed down from generation to generation since time immemorial”. The book is filled with colour photographs provided by Miriam Körner and Tommy Bird, and it begins with a helpful introduction. If you’re from the north, you may already know the various uses of tanned moosehide. They were and are “sewn into mukluks,…

“nēhiyawēwin awāsi-masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Book for Children: A Reference for Teaching the Plains Cree Language”by Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix and Elmer BallantynePlains Cree Translations by Elmer Ballantyne, Inez Deiter, May Desnomie, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix and Joslyn WuttuneePublished by YNWPReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$74.95 ISBN 9781778690044 I recently reviewed awāsi-nēhiyawēwin masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains Cree People, by Saskatchewan’s Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix, and Elmer Ballantyne. The colouring book complements the learned trio’s reference guide for teaching the Plains Cree language, nēhiyawēwin awāsi-masinahikanis—A Little Plains Cree Book for Children, which I have also now read and learned from. “Plains Cree is spoken in 43 First Nations communities in Saskatchewan alone,” and the authors hope is that they, “as Plains Cree people, will still have [their] language for [their] future generations”. In her opening acknowledgements, Deiter (White Buffalo Woman)—a “non-fluent Plains Cree speaker” and English teacher—extends gratitude to the six Elders who “provided the majority of Plains Cree translations” for the reference guide, including her mother, Inez Deiter, “who provides ongoing support for [her daughter’s] efforts to restore the Cree language to our youth”. The reference book follows the themes established in the…

awāsi-nēhiyawēwin masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains Cree Peopleby Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix, and Elmer BallantyneIllustrated by Aleigha AgecoutayPublished by YNWPReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$24.95 ISBN 9781778690136 It’s been said that when a language dies, a culture goes with it. In Canada several Indigenous languages are in fact endangered, but the one I grew up hearing in northern Saskatchewan—Cree—remains one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in the country. Still, it’s important to continue teaching it so Cree youth can connect with their ancestors, their history, and cultural traditions. I’ll add that it’s also a fine idea for anyone who lives in northern communities to learn at least a few words of Cree; my parents took classes because they lived alongside and worked with Plains Cree people. I picked up a small vocabulary, as well, mostly from friends who lived on Flying Dust First Nation. I’m glad that there are educators, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers who continue to find creative ways to make learning Plains Cree fun for children. Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix, and Elmer Ballantyne, the three Saskatchewan writers of awāsi-nēhiyawēwin masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains Cree People, have done just…