Tyler Evans the Greatby Alison LohansPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Miriam Körner$ 19.95 ISBN 9781778690228 What does it mean to be a hero? I have no doubt that everyone has a slightly different definition. If you were to ask Tyler Evans in Alison Lohans’ newest chapter book Tyler Evans the Great, he would tell you what a hero is not: A hero doesn’t let the school bullies take his cookie away. A hero doesn’t lose a shoe when he kicks a ball. And a hero doesn’t get his hair ruffled, especially not by his mom. Could Tyler ever be a hero? Told through the eyes of the young protagonist, this book explores a child’s longing to be a hero for the people (and animals) that mean most to him in his young life: his brother, his single mom, his friends and schoolmates, his dogs and even the robin and caterpillars in his backyard. Tyler tries hard to be a hero, but either he isn’t quick enough and someone else has already stolen the part or his attempts backfire. To make matters worse, his older brother Matt doesn’t let Tyler play video games with him and calls him a…

Colour Me Saskatchewan – A Colouring Book For Kids and Adults Alikeby Maria DaghPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Miriam Körner$ 24.95 ISBN 9781778690242 Being a children’s writer and illustrator myself, I always love coming across books illustrated by Saskatchewan artists. Colour Me Saskatchewan is no exception. Maria Dagh’s illustrations are animated and fun-filled. The joy is written on the faces of her big-eyed children’s characters as they explore the cities, parks and tourist attractions that Saskatchewan has to offer. Dedicated to her daughters Freya and Saga, this colouring book takes readers across the province from the Legislative Building in Regina to Saskatchewan’s 100,000 lakes and waterways. Smiling children engage in kid’s play throughout the seasons from building a snowman or playing on purple sand beaches in Candle Lake. With the same joy, the children in this book also drive tractors, fly crop dusters and oversee a potash mine informing readers about the economic principles of this province. Colouring pages with swaying cattails and dancing dragonflies, smiling saskatoon berries, perching burrowing owls and large-footed lynx pay homage to the natural world of this province. Short one to two sentence fun facts accompany each of the colouring pages in the…

Seagull Island: kiyāsko-miniscikosby Myles H. Charles and Miriam KörnerPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$22.95 ISBN 9781778690105 Seagull Island: kiyāsko-miniscikos is a beautiful children’s book that celebrates traditional life and blends English and Cree to create a captivating tale of family and their deep connection to nature. One morning Luke’s grandfather wakes him up and tells him they are going for a boat ride for the day – to Seagull Island! When they get there, they see lots and lots of nesting seagulls. Carefully Luke’s mosōm and his kohkom show him how to gather the eggs. Finally, when their pail is full, they thank the seagulls for the eggs and set off. They stop at a nearby island to boil the eggs and have some BLT – bannock, lard and tea. Then it’s home to share the rest of the eggs. Miriam Körner’s illustrations are glorious. The pictures fill most of the double pages which gives the reader a chance to immerse themselves in the visuals of the story. There is lots of attention to detail so children can find the butterflies and count the fish and spot the different types of birds. The 24 page, hard-covered book…

When We Had Sled Dogs: A Story from the Traplineby Ida Tremblay and Miriam Körner Published by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$19.95 ISBN 978-1-988783-39-0 Searching for a book that’s educational, Woodland Cree/English bilingual, and specifically Saskatchewan? If you’d also appreciate that the story be packaged in a beautifully-illustrated hardcover, then When We Had Sled Dogs: A Story from the Trapline, should fill your desires. This upbeat and colourful book was inspired by the life of La Ronge, SK Elder Ida Tremblay, who shared her memories of “growing up following the seasonal cycle of trapline life” with Miriam Körner. Körner – also from La Ronge – wrote and illustrated the book, which, sadly, Tremblay never got to see, as she died shortly before it was published. During the summer, while Tremblay’s father worked as a fishing guide, the rest of the family camped at McKenzie End, close to La Ronge. Before winter froze the lake, Ida’s family would canoe for five or six days to their cabin on the Churchill River and tend the trapline until spring. Körner’s had the privilege of accompanying Tremblay “up north and back to the past,” and thus veracity is maintained through first-hand…

When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Seasons Activity Book By Bernice Johnson-Laxdal and Miriam Körner Review by Michelle Shaw Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing $12.95 ISBN 9781988783161 Created as a companion activity book to the award-winning When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Calendar, this book could equally stand alone as a wonderful introduction to the Cree language and culture for readers of all ages. The first book by co-authors Bernice Johnson-Laxdal and Miriam Körner was a beautifully illustrated narrative of Bernice’s Cree childhood in northern Saskatchewan. The narrative of their book is based around the Cree calendar, which consists of six seasons divided into twelve moons, and Bernice’s family’s activities associated with each moon. The activity book follows the same format with simple projects which deepen and complement the reader’s understanding of each of the activities described in the first book. Each page is black and white with a full-page illustration on one of the facing pages. Activities include making your own toy dog team, creating your very own geese flying in a V-formation, growing your own tomato plants, and even instructions on how to make your own moose call. There are also word searches…

When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Calendar By Bernice Johnson-Laxdal and Miriam Körner Review by Michelle Shaw Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing $12.95 9781927756935 Winner of the recent Saskatchewan Book Awards Children’s Literature Award, When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Calendar is a beautifully written and illustrated narrative of the author’s Cree childhood in northern Saskatchewan. Bernice Johnson-Laxdal comes from a large family of 14 children and grew up in the predominantly Métis community of Ile-a-la-Crosse, which is situated along one of Western Canada’s major fur trade routes. From an early age Bernice was involved in her family’s traditional activities: gathering, growing and preparing food, hunting, trapping and making clothing. Most of these activities were (and still are) dependent on the seasons of the year. The book beautifully combines story and image with Körner’s playful watercolors skillfully enhancing the simple word pictures. The narrative is based around the Cree calendar which consists of six seasons divided into twelve moons, which reflect the traditional knowledge of the natural cycle. I found the concept so much more enriching for my soul than the traditional Western calendar! I loved the way each of the 12 moons reflects the…

Li’l Shadd: A Story of Ujima by Miriam Körner and Alix Lwanga, illustrated by Miriam Körner Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $29.95 ISBN 978-1-927756-48-5 Saskatchewan’s history is so multi-culturally rich that there are, admittedly, elements of it that I’ve scarcely even considered. Take, for example, the first African-Canadian pioneers, including the trail-blazing Dr. Alfred Schmitz Shadd (d.1915), for whom two Melfort streets and a northern Saskatchewan lake are named. Dr. Shadd shared an affinity with First Nations’ folks, “due to the similarity of their experiences with colonization and racism,” and the Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum – with the assistance of other funders and sponsors – has brought just one of Shadd’s success stories to light in the delightfully-illustrated children’s book, Li’l Shadd: A Story of Ujima. The title character, Li’l Shadd, represents Garrison Shadd, the real-life son of the good Dr. Shadd, who’s also recognized for his work as a politician, teacher, farmer, journalist and friend. Garrison was actually five years old when his pioneering father died, so the story itself is slightly fictionalized. The plot concerns the child accompanying his father (via horse-drawn wagon) to tend to the baby girl of a…