We are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Traditionby Sarah HernandezPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$39.95 ISBN 9780889779181 In We are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Tradition, American academic Sarah Hernandez (Sicangu Lakota) examines the colonial dismantling of Dakota, Nakota and Lakota intellectual traditions, including “star kno...
Courage and a Castle: A Tribute to a Remarkable Womanby W.J. KoczkaPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Sally Meadows$24.99 ISBN 9781990863950 I can’t imagine a more meaningful tribute to a parent than chronicling their life story in a published book so that many can benefit from their wisdom and grace. Author W.J. Koczka does exactly that, with respect, gratitude, honour, humour, and above all, love, in her new book Courage and a ...
Walking Together: The Future of Indigenous Child Welfare on the PrairiesEdited by Jason Albert, Dorothy Badry, Don Fuchs, et al.Published by University of Regina PressReview by Toby A. Welch $39.95 ISBN 9780889778900 This fascinating book touches on so many topics. Walking Together begins by diving into why it is such a struggle for so many families to access services for their children. We then get right into Bill C-92, th...
GreenWritten and illustrated by Zachari LoganPublished by Radiant PressReview by Shelley A. Leedah$25.00 ISBN 9781998926251 In reading visual artist and poet Zachari Logan’s art/poetry hybrid collection,Green, I was struck by the recurring motif of seeing, and Logan’s recurrentinclusion of the natural world’s diverse creatures and plants. Awe and wonder areintegral elements in this innovative work, a fact that Logan asserts in his...
The Real Story of Winnie the Poohby Bob FriedrichPublished by Last Mountain PublishersReview by Sally Meadows$19.95 ISBN 9780995962613 Did you know that the inspiration for the beloved literary character Winnie-the-Pooh was a real-life bear named Winnie who was a mascot for a Canadian infantry brigade sent overseas duringWorld War I? Or that there was a real-life boy named Christopher Robin (the son of A.A. Milne,the creator of the Winn...
A Home for Hairyby Maureen Ulrich, Illustrated by Brenda BlackburnPublished by Flatlands PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$24.99 ISBN 9781069113511 What I know about Saskatchewan’s Maureen Ulrich is that she understands how to engage readers, her genres and subject matter are varied, and her children’s picture books—ie: Sam and the Big Bridge, which I previously reviewed—are delightfully heartwarming. Ulrich, a former teacher, r...
What Shade of Brown?by John Brady McDonaldPublished by Radiant PressReview by Toby A. Welch $20.00 ISBN 9781998926282 What Shade of Brown? is what I call a ‘pocket book’ as it’s small enough to tuck into your bag or pocket. It’s seventy-eight pages long so it’s not very thick. But wow, does it ever pack a punch! This book of poetry is made up of thirty-five poems. Each and every one of them is dynamic. The poems delve in...
No Straight Linesby Ruth ChorneyPublished by 7SpringsBooksReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$25.00 ISBN 9781738323531 Chalk it up to interesting and relatable characters, dynamic plots, and rural settings so viscerally described, you can taste the prairie soil on your teeth: Kelvington, SK writer Ruth Chorney’s latest book, the contemporary mystery No Straight Lines, is another winner. From the police interrogation of protagonist Ingrid tha...
Kimeto’s Journeyby Maureen UlrichPublished by Flatlands PressReview by Sally Meadows$17.99 ISBN 9781778296574 While watching over his family’s cattle grazing on Kenyan rangelands, eleven-year-old Kimeto spots a leather strap hanging from an acacia tree, a sure sign of a poacher’s snare. The next morning on their way to school, he and his two younger sisters come across the carcass of a large elephant. Splashing noises nearby lead ...
“Nakón-wico’i’e né uspénic’iciyac/Practising Nakoda: A Thematic Dictionary”by Vincent Collette, Tom Shawl and Wilma KennedyPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$27.95 ISBN 9781779400185 Language and cultural identity are intrinsically connected, and for the Nakoda people, who believe that “language is a gift of the Creator,” the Nakoda language is, “through prayers and songs, ...
