How exciting! Nancy Cooper’s BIINDIGEN! AMIK SAYS WELCOME has been included in the American Indians in Children’s Literature Year In Review: Best Picture Books of 2023!
Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016.
Their review is an annual year-end list of books they want you to know about and would like to see multiple copies of them in every classroom, school, and public library.
Check out the full list here: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2023/11/aicls-year-in-review-for-2023.html
About BIINDIGEN! AMIK SAYS WELCOME:
Busy beavers have a family reunion in this story that celebrates Indigenous perspectives.
It’s a special day for Amik the beaver and her little sister, Nishiime. Their cousins are coming to visit! Amik is excited, but Nishiime feels nervous about meeting new people, and when the cousins finally arrive, Nishiime disappears.
Lively, immersive illustrations show Amik and her cousins as they search the woods for Nishiime. Each creature they encounter, introduced to readers using their Anishinaabe names, reveals how beavers help the forest community. A fish thanks them for digging canals in the mud that they swim through. A deer thanks the beavers for cutting down trees so they can reach the tastiest leaves. None of the creatures have seen Nishiime, but keen-eyed kids will have spotted her hiding in the background throughout the story.
Eventually, Nishiime returns to the group, having overcome her shyness by learning an important lesson: despite being from different places, the beavers are all united by the ways they support the forest ecosystem. With the perfect blend of fact and fun, this salute to the industrious beaver is also an energetic celebration of Indigenous perspectives, languages, and diversity.
Nancy Cooper is from the Chippewas of Rama First Nation in southern Ontario. She grew up all over northern Ontario, and her favorite place to be is out in the forest seeing and learning new things. Nancy lives in Toronto now and loves to spend time with her twin sons, her wife, and their poodle Joy.
Nancy is represented by Samantha Haywood and Fiona Kenshole.
Congratulations!