Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

PreS-Gr 2-Awâsis, a Cree child, stumbles on a baking adventure in this lighthearted picture book celebration of family recipes, new friends, and, of course, bannock. On her way to visit a relative, Awâsis is devastated when she accidentally drops Kôhkum's world-famous bannock off a bridge. Fortunately, Sîsîp, Wâpos, Ayîkis, and Ohô, a menagerie of generous woodland creatures, are happy to share almost all the ingredients needed to bake a new batch. Returning home, Awâsis finds Kôhkum and yet another new friend, Maskwa, ready with the one final ingredient they need to bake a new batch of world-famous bannock to share with everyone. The narrative follows a classic, predictable structure as Awâsis moves through the forest landscape, collaborating with each creature in turn. Cree vocabulary is seamlessly integrated into the story and easily decoded through context. Hunt's text injects personality into each animal character, and variations in font size encourage those reading aloud to alter their volume for dramatic effect. Strong's digital collage illustrations have the feel of watercolor paintings and create a safe, welcoming woodland environment. Awâsis, with her round face, ponytail, prominent ears, and bright blue overalls, is a captivating young protagonist. Back matter includes a recipe for bannock and a Cree pronunciation guide. VERDICT Easily accessible to those new to Cree, this is a joyful tribute to the language and an engaging read-aloud about community and cooperation that will resonate with a wide range of preschool audiences.-Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Little girl Awbsis loses her Kthkum's (grandmother) famous bannock on the way to her relatives' house. With the help of her friends in the forest, Awbsis is able to collect all the ingredients she needs to make a new one. Soft, naive illustrations make it easy for readers to understand the Cree words used in the story; a glossary/pronunciation guide is appended, along with a recipe. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A little girl loses her delivery of bannock bread, but animal helpers restore the ingredients in this picture book that includes Cree vocabulary. Khkum asks her granddaughter Awsis to deliver a basket of freshly baked bannock to a relative. But, running and skipping along the way, Awsis drops it over a bridge, losing it in the river. A series of animals stop her tears by providing ingredients for a new batch. For example, Ssp (duck) provides margarine: "I don't have any bannock, but I do have some tohtosapopimehkan, and I'm pretty sure that's in bannock!" Rabbit, frog, and owl also come to the rescue. Back at Khkum's house, Maskwa (bear)who ate the bannock that fell in the river and has been following alongknocks on the door, offering the final ingredient. Grandmother and granddaughter make a new batch, sharing it with Awsis' animal friends. A recipe and Cree word list follow. In his debut book, Hunt tells a story that already feels like a childhood classic. Young children will enjoy the tale's effective repetition of incident and language (counterpointed with the unfamiliar vocabulary and some variation, as when Awsis whispers or shouts), its cooperative animals, and the happy ending. Strong's charmingly faux naif illustrations, dominated by soft colors of blue, purple, brown, and green, are lovely and expressive; the bear that can be spotted in many panels is a nice touch.A delightful story with appealing illustrations that centers on Native American culture. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2—Awâsis, a Cree child, stumbles on a baking adventure in this lighthearted picture book celebration of family recipes, new friends, and, of course, bannock. On her way to visit a relative, Awâsis is devastated when she accidentally drops Kôhkum's world-famous bannock off a bridge. Fortunately, Sîsîp, Wâpos, Ayîkis, and Ôhô, a menagerie of generous woodland creatures, are happy to share almost all the ingredients needed to bake a new batch. Returning home, Awâsis finds Kôhkum and yet another new friend, Maskwa, ready with the one final ingredient they need to bake a new batch of world-famous bannock to share with everyone. The narrative follows a classic, predictable structure as Awâsis moves through the forest landscape, collaborating with each creature in turn. Cree vocabulary is seamlessly integrated into the story and easily decoded through context. Hunt's text injects personality into each animal character, and variations in font size encourage those reading aloud to alter their volume for dramatic effect. Strong's digital collage illustrations have the feel of watercolor paintings and create a safe, welcoming woodland environment. Awâsis, with her round face, ponytail, prominent ears, and bright blue overalls, is a captivating young protagonist. Back matter includes a recipe for bannock and a Cree pronunciation guide. VERDICT Easily accessible to those new to Cree, this is a joyful tribute to the language and an engaging read-aloud about community and cooperation that will resonate with a wide range of preschool audiences.—Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN