Kohkum’s Royal Bannock

Kohkum’s Royal Bannock
by Wilfred Burton, Illustrated by Hawlii Pichette, Michif translation by Irma Klyne and Larry Fayant
Review by Michelle Shaw
Published by Thistledown Press
$14.95 ISBN 9781771872744

I wasn’t surprised to discover that Kohkum’s Royal Bannock, a beautifully illustrated full colour picture book, was written by a former elementary school teacher, because it’s full of details, concepts and questions that are cleverly designed to keep young readers fully engaged with this very entertaining story.

One day Xavier’s Kohkum gets a letter from the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. The letter states that the Queen will be visiting the next day and asks Kohkum to make her famous bannock and jam for the royal visitor. Startled by this news, Kohkum quickly works out that that she would need to make enough bannok for six people. So, she and Xavier go to the store to stock up on flour, baking powder and shortening. Back home, Kohkom suggests that they get a good night sleep and bake the bannok in the morning so that it is fresh.

But the next morning when they get up very early, they turn the letter over and discover that there will actually be 300 guests joining the Queen! And the bannock needs to be delivered to City Hall by 3pm that day! Kohkum works out that that means they will need to make 90 bannocks! How will they get it done in time?

After driving to the store again and stocking up on so many supplies that they just manage to cram into Kohkum’s old red Ford, Kohkum hands her cell phone to Xavier and says: “My Boy! Call your aunties and tell them to come and help immediately.”

The aunties spring into action and the bannocks are delivered in time. Everyone waits to see the Queen’s reaction. Spoiler – she thinks they are “absolutely scrummy”.

I really enjoyed this book. There are so many concepts like counting and calculation, capacity, sequence, shape, time, and problem solving that are so skillfully worked into the story that children will learn so much without even realising it. The book is written in English and Michif which is great for dual language readers as well as early language learners. There is also a great connection between the words and the illustrations so it’s easy for readers to follow the story.

The book is set in Saskatchewan and is inspired by a delightful true story. And, I was delighted to discover that there is a recipe for bannock included on the last page of the book, including details of Kohkom’s secret ingredient!

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM