DAD, IS IT TIME TO GATHER MINT?
Celebrating the Seasons
From the Joshua Learns From the Land series, volume 1
by Tyna Legault Taylor ; illustrated by Michelle Dao
A Native child delights in a beloved tradition.
Joshua loves gathering mint with his father each summer. As the seasons progress, he periodically asks, “Dad, is it time to gather katakipanik / gaaminomaagobagak from the aski / aki again?” Not yet! Fall is when they hunt moose and partridge, while winter is for ice fishing, snaring rabbits, and gathering cedar. In spring, the family makes spruce tea, fishes for rainbow trout, and hunts geese. Legault Taylor (Attawapiskat First Nation) writes her tale in English, with Swampy Cree and Anishinaabemowin terms and phrases interspersed, offering young people the unique opportunity to read a trilingual Native story. As Joshua and his family move through the year toward summer, Dao’s cheerful cartoon images emphasize their reverence for the land. The tale concludes with the characters finally harvesting mint along the lakeshore and enjoying mint iced tea with relatives. Swampy Cree and Anishinaabemowin words for land, dad, and mint are repeated often in the gently rhythmic narrative, helping readers to build recognition for the Native words. The tale closes with a glossary and a recipe for mint iced tea.
Refreshing in its uplift of Indigenous languages.
(Picture book. 5-7)