Looking for a Canadian First Nations picture book to read with your family? Try Nutshimit in the Woods by Melissa Mollen Dupuis and Elise Gravel.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: In this immersive first-person account, Innu author Melissa Mollen Dupuis teams up with award-winning author and illustrator Elise Gravel to take readers on a journey through Innu culture, from creation legends to life today.
The Innu word Nutshimit signifies the physical and social space to practice traditional activities and language. Join author Melissa Mollen Dupuis on a guided walk deep through the forest to learn some of the rich culture of the Innu people.
Readers will discover the importance of natural world and learn a few Innu words along the way. Thoughtfully brought to life by Elise Gravel’s signature comic style illustrations, Melissa’s colloquial narrative and anecdotes detailing her lived experiences offer a deeply personal look at Innu life.
Nutshimit
Published by Scholastic in 2023, this picture book is bigger than your average picture book at 86 pages and reads more like nonfiction. It is narrated by an Innu girl and goes over lots of different things. From Turtle Island to trees to animals to food and man-made materials from nature, this book goes over a lot in a fun way.
The book is beautifully illustrated with cute eyes on everything, not just the animals.
My only suggestion for how it could have been better is a pronunciation guide for the Innu words. There are a lot of them and most of them are very long such as pitshikaishkashish which means chickadee.
There are activities to go with the book available at the Scholastic website.
Buy Nutshimit from Amazon.CA.
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