Simpson, Tonya. This Land Is a Lullaby: cistomawasowin oma askiy. Delree` Dumont, Illus. Translated into Cree by Dorothy Thunder. Orca, 09/2024. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $21.95. 978-1459836099. GRADES Baby/Toddler–2. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Using a text in English and Plains Cree, this original lullaby celebrates the relationship between children, ancestors, and the land in Plains Cree culture. The rhyming text has a soothing tone: “Grasses swirl and whirl. Rising winds rejoice. Geese take flight with jubilant voice.” Each spread features the English on the left, and Plains Cree text on the right, set onto a colored border at the bottom of each page. The full-color illustrations, done in acrylics in pointillism style, show mother and baby outside on a stormy summer night, observing the animals and the sights and sounds of nature. This is a lovely bedtime book for all families from the author of Forever Our Home (Orca, 2023). Review based on an ARC.
Penny Peck—San José State University iSchool