reviewed - Katrina

The text is mostly English with key vocabulary in Cree. I could guess the meaning of the Cree words from the illustrations and context, plus there are translations and a pronunciation guide at the end of the book (and a recipe for bannock!).

This seemed like it might be a Little Red Riding Hood story, but the only similarity is that a young girl is tasked with carrying food through the woods and makes a mistake. Instead of meeting a dangerous animal, Awâsis meets helpful animals.

I'd suggest this for ages 3 to 6. I think it would work well for a preschool story time about food/cooking (as long as I practiced all the Cree words first). It would make a good flannel board story too.

Some kids may ask how woodland creatures have pantry staples like flour and baking powder at hand -- it's just as believable as a wolf wearing granny's clothes or pigs building houses. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

This story is very sweet. A little girl is to take some bannock (a type of pastry) to a family friend, but she plays along the way and loses it. Her animal friends help by giving her the various ingredients. I love that this is a Native American language book. Many of the words are in Cree with no explanation until the end. The lovely illustrations help you figure out what ingredient and what animal is which Cree word, but thank goodness for the glossary at the end. I wish it would have included the english translations in the illustrations, or put the Cree word over the illustration so it was more exact. But overall it works. And I love that readers get a chance to learn native words and phrases. ( )

When Awâsis, meaning "child" in Cree, is sent to deliver some of her Kôhkum's (grandmother's) world-famous bannock to a relative, the excited young girl ends up losing it over the side of a bridge. Dismayed at this turns of events, she appeals to a series of woodland animals for help, being given most of the ingredients necessary for bannock in return. Making her way home again, Awâsis and her Kôhkum makes another batch of pahkwesikan (bannock) together...

A sweet story about a young girl, her grandmother, and her many animal friends, Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock is meant, according to the dust-jacket blurb about author Dallas Hunt, to introduce and familiarize readers with some basic Cree vocabulary. Hunt, who is a member of the Wapisewsipi/Swan River First Nation in Alberta, is an educator and a "proponent of language revitalization." The Cree words uses in the story are glossed at the rear, with English definitions and pronunciations. Most helpfully, this glossary is arranged in the order in which the words appear in the story, so that the reader doesn't have to search for the word in question, but can easily flip to that page, read the meaning, and continue on with the story. Once a Cree word has been introduced in the story, it is often used again, in order to solidify its meaning in the reader's mind.

I appreciated the structure of Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock, which I think works very well toward the goal that Hunt had in mind - namely, acquisition of basic Cree vocabulary. I also appreciated the story, with its message of community and making things right when we have made a mistake. The artwork from illustrator Amanda Strong, a Michif filmmaker, is cute, in a cartoon-like way. There is even a recipe for bannock at the rear! Recommended to anyone looking for children's books with a Cree cultural and linguistic background, as well as to anyone simply searching for appealing picture-books.

Note: If readers are seeking picture-books that feature Cree vocabulary, they might also consider:

Neepin Auger's four trilingual board books: Discovering Words, Discovering Numbers, Discovering Animals, and Discovering People.

Dave Bouchard's bilingual picture-books: Nokum Is My Teacher and The Drum Calls Softly.

Julie Flett's We All Count: A Book of Cree Numbers.

Caitlin Dale Nicholson's two bilingual picture-books: Niwechihaw / I Help and Nipêhon / I Wait. ( )