I think we can all be grateful for the power of small, direct acts against the erosion of Indigenous language, and for another genuine act of kindness from Mike Parkhill of SayItFirst Books. Since I struggled to work out which books were in Cree, and how to order them, I wrote to Mike to ask for help. He responded with this beautifully organized listing of all the books in Cree as of right now.
Remember: this is a project Mike has undertaken for its importance, and for the sheer joy of seeing it happen. They’re really charming little books, and I hope this helps them find their way into many more Cree homes and schools.
ay-hay, Mike: kinanâskomitinân (we are grateful to you!)
As an added bonus, the table also provides a guide for the videos, and notes the few books for which there are no videos (yet). (My last post about Say It First included listings from the YouTube channel).
| Title | Ages | n-dialect | y-dialect | th-dialect | Category | Reason for Writing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Can't Sleep | 5-9 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Helping others and the community | |
| Know What You Throw | 5-9 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Reuse, recycle, reduce | |
| The Wet Picnic | 5-9 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Bullying prevention for young audience, specifically, exclusion is a form of bullying | |
| I Wanna Be Rich | 5-9 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Prepositions are the focus, rich in friends and not necessarily material wealth***No Video | |
| What Will I Do | 5-9 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Early thinking about careers | |
| The Muskrat's Clan | 5-9 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Identify a clan and why it is important to always act within it***No Video | |
| Do Something | 4-8 | X | X | X | Beginning reading | Be active, not bored | |
| Bedtime for Keiran | 4-8 | X | Health care books | Sleep Hygiene | |||
| Let's Go Outside | 4-8 | X | Health care books | Being Active with recommendations | |||
| I Am Not a Tattletail | 4-8 | X | Health care books | Learn when to tell in order to help someone or | |||
| My New Friend | 4-9 | X | Health care books | First Visit the the hospital | |||
| Where Do You Read | 4-8 | X | X | X | Health care books | Learning to love to read | |
| Playing Defense | 4-8 | X | X | X | Health care books | Vaccinations | |
| Something's Missing | 4-8 | X | X | X | Health care books | Oral hygiene | |
| Ouch That Hurts | 4-8 | X | X | X | Health care books | Pain identification and management | |
| Always Have a Plan | 4-8 | X | X | X | Health care books | Snowmobile safety | |
| I Am So Thirsty | 4-8 | X | X | X | Health care books | Early diabetes detection | |
| Hide and Peek | 2-5 | x | x | x | Daycare books | Animals | |
| Tail Of a Tail | 2-5 | x | x | x | Daycare books | Body Parts |
Here’s what you need to know to order:
- All stories are $8 each, minimum 10 stories per order
- Email Mike: mikepark@sayitfirst.ca
- Tell him
- which title(s)
- which dialect(s)
- how many of each
- (It might help to print out this table for reference, and mark it up)
- who you are and where to ship the books
- how you plan to pay
- SayITFirst will pay the shipping.
I just love stories with happy endings, like this one has for now. I also love stories that just keep on going – and it seems this one holds that promise, too!
#nêhiyawêwin #ininîmowin #nîhithawîwin
One Response
This is fabulous. LIstening to them helps me figure out vocabulary! I am listening to the Y dialect videos on Youtube with my grandchildren. We hope to buy some soom!