We began with our picture book, We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; illustrated by Michaela Goade. We all loved this beautiful book about the historic role of Ojibwe women to protect water, told in the voice of a young Native girl. We liked the beautifully poetic way it was written, while at the same time dealing with the contemporary and uncomfortable issue of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which is depicted in words and pictures as a 'black snake that will destroy the land.' We liked the way water's relationship with and importance to all of life was described, and shown on almost every page with beautiful, brightly colored undulating watercolors (of course!!) on almost every page and in every context -- even on one page as the protagonist's hair. We loved the two-page pictorial spread, rendered in various shades of blue, which showed the earth in the middle of the universe, adorned with traditional Native floral motifs and encircled by depictions of many Native spirit animals, and the text, "We are all related." We thought the end notes were very helpful in providing additional information regarding the text and the Native Alaskan illustrator's choices in what she determined to depict to honor the author's Ojibwe culture.There were also translations of several Native terms that had been used in the text. We felt that very young listeners to this story as a read-aloud might not fully understand the controversial parts or the idea of the beauty of water vs. a threat, but that it could create a beginning appreciation of the importance of water to humans and all other living creatures. We felt the book could be used with older readers, even in middle or high school to begin a discussion of this very important social issue. Finally, we felt it was deserving of its recently bestowed Caldecott Award for picture books.
Although there was much to like about our novel, Midsummer's Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca, we had a few issues about the plot, the pacing, the surplus of characters and scenes, and the interconnection with Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." We did like the main character, Mimi Mackson, an eleven-year-old Indian American girl who was obsessed with baking and whose main desire was to win a local baking contest so that she could feel as important as her three older overachieving siblings: an actor, a musician, and a sports star -- all high school students. We liked the relationship between Mimi and her dad, a food writer who had somehow lost his sense of taste, and the descriptions of many Indian foods and ingredients that were mentioned throughout the telling of this story. We were a bit confused by Mimi's connection with Vik, a strange boy she met in a weird forest, who began to have a big influence on her decisions and choices and later turned out to be a VERY old inhabitant of an ancient fairy culture, the magic of which was throwing obstacles in Mimi's path around every corner...turning the real events in the narrative into a Shakespearean comedy OR tragedy -- depending upon one's interpretation. We just felt that this author had tried to do too much in this novel, and it could have benefited from better editing. We were also not enthralled with the several black-and-white illustrations throughout the book -- we felt that they didn't enhance the story in any way. BUT we all learned a lot about spices, flavors, and baking techniques and we did feel that young readers, especially young 'foodies' who watch a lot of kids' cooking competitions on food TV, would 'eat this up.'!! Even if they were confused by some of the elements, there was enough food/cooking/baking-related content to keep them happy. AND a great food-related glossary at the end, plus three recipes of things Mimi had baked.
