Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story might not be a great book (meaning it has all the bells, whistle, computer generated cuteness, and all the “I’m okay you’re okay” lovey-dovey stuff you see in a contemporary book), but it is a solid book. And it is a book with staying power that might just become a classic. It is an important book, a poetic book, and a strong representation of the Thanksgiving story told from another perspective. My score of 4 is really a 4.5 as I just wanted more. (Not a bad “I need more to flesh things out” but just more! The afterwards does assist with this).
Danielle Greendeer, Antony Perry, Alexis C. Bunten, and Garry Meeches Sr. combined their talents and created a story that is told by the Three Sisters of native mythology. These three voices, along with the animals and nature, watch as the colonists and native population interact. They show the spirit of friendship and taking care of each other. A simple concept is executed in a complex and accessible manner. This story comes about because two grandchild ask their grandmother about the story. There is also a small glossary of words included.
The illustrations are just as poetic as the text itself. They are not overly bold, but again, solid. And the colors are strong and show what is what. They also have a whimsical quality in that they are almost “blurry” and trying to capture a spiritual nature, as we are dealing with beings that are not human but in human formation.
If I know books (and I like to think I do) I am thinking that this book will at least be challenged. This is due to the fact that it does not show the colonists in the best of light (in the afterwards this is explored, but fox does mention that maybe the people/the sisters should not trust these newcomers), and the narrator is First Nation.
