WE ALL LOVE

Animals care for one another, and children express parallel affections in beautiful, simple images.

Stuck on its back, a small turtle wriggles its limbs uncomfortably as a larger turtle slowly nudges it to its feet. An otter snuggles its baby close; crabs hold claws nearby. A shrew gazes over its shoulder to make sure its offspring are all lined up. Alongside these depictions of animal life, dark-haired, brown-skinned children play together in outdoor scenes—rolling in the grass, cuddling near a crackling campfire, or standing stone still to observe a butterfly. Flett’s (Cree-Métis) subtle skill with color and texture imbues each illustration with abiding calm. Seemingly simple backgrounds, on closer inspection, reveal intricacies in the art: Gentle purple streaks signify a blowing breeze; a pale green field is speckled with grasses, butterflies, and tiny flowers. The same detail extends to animals—a dog sits quite still as a ladybug passes, but loose radiating lines indicate a wiggly nose and a waggly tail. Both images and text richly communicate humans’ communion with nature: We love in much the same ways animals do, while the refrain “We love too! kîstanaw mîna” emphasizes a specifically Indigenous relationship to the natural world. Animals are mostly unnamed within the text, but their species names are given in English and Cree at the book’s close.

A beautiful invitation to savor our interconnectedness with nature.