Our Children's Librarian columnist, Julie Booker, brings us a new view from the stacks every month.

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Mashkiki Road, The Seven Grandfather Teachings, by Elizabeth S. Barrett, illustrated by Jonathan Thunder, is a perfect introduction to the Seven Teachings for Kindergarten to Grade 3. It’s the story of three siblings who set out to collect medicines—cedar and sage—for their grandmother. Along the way they meet animals, such as bear, beaver and an eagle, who watch over them throughout the journey in the bush. Each creature represents one of the traits of the Seven Grandfather Teachings: courage, honesty, respect, humility wisdom, truth and love. The children return home with the medicines and stories, reinforcing the themes of family, traditions, and gifts from the natural world.

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Maakusie Loves Music, by Jaaji and Chelsey June, illustrated by Tamara Campeau, follows an Inuit girl as she explores different types of Arctic music. The origins of throat singing, drumming, the jaw harp, and stringed instruments originally brought by missionaries in the 18th century are all represented. Maakusie talks about how music has changed, and the different ways in which these traditions have been incorporated in each of the four Arctic regions. Alongside the lyrical pictures, with swirling imagery and musical notes, readers from Kindergarten to Grade 3 are provided with an introduction to some Inuttitut words. This book is also part of the Nunavummi Reading series which is a Nunavut-developed levelled book series designed to teach readers about the Arctic. This one is Fountas and Pinnell Text Level O.

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E Meshkwadooniged Mitig/ The Trading Tree is a story in both English and Ojibwe, written by Nancy Cooper, translated by Myrtle Jamieson/Waaseyaankwot Kwe, and illustrated by Heather Charles and Milena Vujanovic. It's about an actual 200-year-old tree that overlooks Lake Simcoe in the town of Georgina. The tree, as narrator, tells of its importance as a gathering place where storytelling happens without judgement. It tells of the time over 150 years ago when the Chippewa people traded with settlers beneath its branches—blankets, baskets, dried fish, maple syrup, deer hide moccasins and mittens with beadwork. The settlers brought butter, eggs and quilts. This simple picture book for Kindergarten to Grade Two readers focuses on the importane of sharing. There’s an Ojibwe pronunciation guide and an afterword about neighbouring schools’ collaborative project to make a rain river and gardens at the foot of the tree.

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Students might be inspired to do some beadwork while reading Majagalee: The Language of Seasons, with story, beaded Illustrations and handcut paper by Shawna Davis, and photos by Toonasa Jordana Luggi. Majagalee means flower and also a term of endearment for children. The book is divided into seasons, with each page displaying a poem and photo of the beadwork and paper collage. In the summer section, for example, the text reads: “Salmon, powerful salmon/ swims against the current./ A stream/ of ancestral memories/ guide them/ to complete their cycle of life.” The illustration shows a huge turquoise and orange eye in the night sky above paper salmon cutouts swimming in turquoise waters. Most pages, introduce a Gitksan word along with a pronunciation note. This one inspires respect for the earth, for Grades 1 to 3.

Loaf the Cat Goes to the Powwow, by Nicholas DeShaw, illustrated by Tara Audibert, is a good one for teaching point of view because the narrator is a cat. Loaf is named as such because she looks like a loaf of bread when she lies down with her toasty brown limbs tucked in. She loves her boy, Charlie, who she sees sewing ribbons on his clothes. When he disappears for the day, Loaf follows him to a powwow, where Loaf hides, watching Charlie and all the other dancers. She leaps out onto his shoulder and together they dance. They are such a crowd pleaser that Charlie secures his role in the next powwow. This is a nice introduction to what a powwow is, with colourful, cartoon-like pictures that will appeal to Kindergarten to Grade 2 students.

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The Hawk Shadow, by Jan Bourdeau Caboose, illustrated by Karlene Harvey, is about Serenity and her older brother Big Ed heading out into the bush to go fishing. Big Ed, with his store-bought rod, makes fun of Serenity’s fishing pole, made from spruce branch and moose sinew. They head to Hawk River, past the traditional medicines of chokecherries and cedar branches, experiencing the smells, sights and sounds of the bush. Gekek, the red-tailed hawk known as a protector, makes an appearance, and later, when Big Ed disappears, Gekek leads his sister to where Ed lies trapped in some river rocks. They offer thanks to the Spirit Guides for helping Serenity “catch” her brother (instead of a fish.) For Kindergarten to Grade 3.

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On her first day as teacher-librarian, Julie Booker was asked by a five-year-old if that was her real name. She's felt at home in libraries since her inaugural job as a Page in the Toronto Public Library. She is the author of Up Up Up, a book of short stories published by House of Anansi Press.