• Age: 6 to 8
• Grade: 1 to 3
• Reading age: 6 to 8

Tessa loves how her grandmother always smells of campfire stories. Mom says it’s because Kohkom spends her days sewing beautiful beads onto smoked hides. Inspired, Tessa asks Kohkom to teach her beading, but first she must listen and learn about the many stories held in a bead.
This dual language edition contains the story in both Ininîmowin (Cree, N-dialect) and English.

Kelsey Borgford is a Nbisiing Nishnaabekwe from the Marten clan. She is an emerging author, passionate about utilizing writing as a tool to revitalize cultural connections. After losing her Gokomis-baa in 2014, Kelsey sought out a means of connection with her grandmother and found that connection to her through the arts. Kelsey’s work aims to pass along cultural traditions and identity. Her work is predominantly centered in the practice of beading and writing. She has a children’s book, What’s in a Bead, forthcoming from Second Story Press. In all aspects of her creativity, Kelsey draws inspiration from her culture, her mother, her community, and relatives in the natural world.

Kelsey Borgford's profile page

Tessa Pizzale grew up in North Bay, Ontario. Her Cree relatives are from Moose Factory, Fort Albany, and Peawanuck. She is completing her BFA at Nipissing University. Tessa loves Indigenous crafts and is grateful to her late Kookum for teaching her beading and her Nikawiy for teaching her to sew.

Tessa Pizzale's profile page

Duane Linklater is Omaskêko Ininiwak and currently lives in North Bay, Ontario. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from Bard College and a Bachelor of Native Studies with a focus in Cree language from the University of Alberta. Linklater is lifelong learner of the Cree language and credits the many Elders, including his kohkom Agnes Hunter, for teaching and sharing the language.

Duane Linklater's profile page

Angela Shisheesh is a Cree translator at Ojibway & Cree Cultural Centre based in Timmins, Ontario

Angela Shisheesh's profile page

"If you’d like to get your kids addicted to something healthier, here’s a guide to the latest in children’s lit.... Tessa wants her Kohkom to teach her how to bead but first, Kohkom explains, she has to share stories about her Cree heritage and the way beading is connected to preserving her culture, language and identity."

Globe & Mail

“Readers will learn that different First Nations have different beadwork techniques, and that this traditional art is still alive and well today…It’s a very sweet story about children learning from Elders and keeping families together…It is a good way for tactile learners to absorb information.”

Anishinabek News