#carole lindstrom

[the-dust-jacket]

A few picture book picks for Indigenous People's Day

Pictured: What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me, Just Like Grandma, Remember, We Are Still Here!, Fry Bread, We Are Water Protectors, Finding My Dance

[ecreads]

Title: We Are Water Protectors

Author: Carole Lindstrom

Illustrator: Michaela Goade

Published: March 17th, 2020 by Roaring Brook Press

Genre & Format: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Folklore/Folktale & Religion, Picture Book

Key Themes: Activism, Environment, Multigenerational, Native American & Indigenous Peoples’ Stories, Social Issues

Reading Level: Preschool, Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade

Language: English

ISBN: 9781250203557

Content Warnings:

None

Publisher’s Synopsis:

“Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption—a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade. Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all . . . When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth And poison her people’s water, one young water protector Takes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource.”

Review: School Library Journal

“From swirling, detailed watercolor illustrations to lyrical text with the refrain, “We stand with our songs and our drums. We are still here,” this title explores the Indigenous fight to protect water from pollution. A young Anishinaabe girl explains the prophecy of the black snake “that will destroy the land. Spoil the water. Poison plants and animals. Wreck everything in its path.” The unnamed girl calls for action to protect all living things and “fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.” The illustrations use rich colors and shading to show the intricate connection among all living creatures. A broken pipeline leaks into blue waters, turning fish and fowl into skeletons. Ghosts of ancestors surround children as an elder tells them the black snake prophecy. Black pipelines form the body of the snake on a red background, its mouth open and ready to strike. The author and illustrator notes focus on the need to protect water, and explain events at Standing Rock, where tribal members and their allies fought against an oil pipeline. A glossary of terms is provided, and the last page has an “Earth Steward and Water Protector Pledge” for readers to sign.

“VERDICT An accessible introduction to environmental issues combined with beautiful illustrations, this book will both educate and inspire youth. First purchase for all libraries.”

Additional Resources:

Purchase

Virtual Read-Along and Discussion with Carole Lindstrom

Activity Guide

[battlinghugetbr]

2881 (+433)

I lied, this is the end of the pre-HRCYED clean up, because I cannot decide what I want to start with.

I read "We Are Water Protectors" by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade, so that is off my tbr. The biggest shout out to the illustrator, she carried this.

Then I read "An American Story" by Kwame Alexander and Dare Coulter, so that if off my tbr. Once again, the biggest shout out to the illustrator, doing god's work.

The I ruthlessly removed "The Caring Crab" by Tuula Pere and Roksolana Panchyshyn from my tbr, because I have no interest in it.

And then I read "My Rainbow" by Deshanna Neal, Trinity Neal and *double checks notes*... Art Twink? Aight, at least it broke the string of bad books. This book actually made me wonder, are parents of trans kids ever like "yes, I wanted to give you a name of another gender, actually, and I liked it way more, so yay"?? I feel like that would be me if my child came out as trans and I named them Trinity, amazing name, 10/10.

Speaking of names, one of the prompts for HRCYED 3 is about your name's meaning and I decided to do three books - my birth name, my given name and my middle name (which is the name I was supposed to be baptised under, Catholicism jumpscare).

I always knew the meaning of my birth name, as it is just two Ukrainian words vaguely glued together, but yesterday was the first time that I sat down to think and went "oh wait, it's means peacebringer, HOLY SHIT THAT'S COOL". I, however, never thought about the meaning of the name Mark and according to a random source that I trust with my life, it is a shortened version of Marcus (who could have guessed), which was created from the name Mars. As in, the Greek god of war (and other things) Mars. I was literally named peacebringer and then I named myself after the god of war, talk about poetry.

And then my middle name just means "from the sea", so nothing that interesting.

But hey, fun transition.

[brandireads]

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

A 2021 Caldecott Award Winner

(Photo credit: Carole Lindstrom's Website We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom)

Genre/Category: A 2021 Caldecott Award Winner, PreK to 6th Grade

Target Age Group: Kindergarten to Grades 2 (BookList, 2020).

Summary:

              A young Ojibwe girl must reckon with an oil pipeline being forced through her community and her tribe. Through the stories from her grandmother and her own connection to water and Earth, she finds strength to battle this black snake that threatens their water, a sacred part of life. It is an uplifting call to fight the giants of climate change told through the lens of the Ojibwe tribe.  

Justification:

              This book is the winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal. Initially, I had planned to use a Newberry Medal winner but decided to pick a Caldecott Medal since I was the least familiar with it of the two possible medals. To provide an additional limitation to myself, I tried to only focus on the years that I had not yet read anything from. I was intrigued by the cover of We Are Water Protectors which is a proud young girl, surrounded by the vibrant blue of the water. I purposely studied Native American History when I lived in Seattle, Washington for my undergraduate studies and nothing on my list yet had any connection to this rich history. Because I knew I would be traveling internationally when this blog check was due, I decided to borrow this book from the library via the Libby app and read it on my phone to retain the color illustrations (my Kindle automatically sets all color to black and white scale). Similar to Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford, reading a picture book on a phone can be a challenge, but it did also allow me to zoom in on portions of the illustrations I liked or wanted to explore.

Evaluation:

              I will be evaluating three important elements: illustrations, mood, and point of view. These elements serve the book and are vital to the reader.

              By far, the main draw of this book are the beautiful illustrations, done with care to the story and to the characters. The colors used are rich and deep, with the blue hue of the water standing out the most. The world being depicted in We Are Water Protectors is one that is vibrant, exciting, and, and most importantly, alive. In the start of the book, when Nokomis (the Grandmother) is talking to the main character, the water acts both as a method of moving the story (as waves) and as a form of weaving the world into one cohesive place. We don’t exist without water, and this is apparent by what I think is the best illustration in the book, which depicts a pregnant woman, surrounded by a red and purple crescent moon, with water flowing within and around her. This sense of oneness with water, and therefore the Earth, is emphasized throughout the whole book. With this in mind, the villain is introduced through two methods: as words, called the black snake, and as illustrations, depicted as an oil pipeline with a snake head. This combination of folklore, the feared black snake, and reality, the feared oil pipeline, makes for a truly terrifying depiction of something that is dead set on destroying life. However, the book does not linger on this fear; instead, the book focuses on and reiterates the importance of our connection to water and to each other, all through the usage of a young girl, armed with a feather, surrounded by her tribe (and later, all people). The illustrations make it clear we are not going to win against this black snake if we go at it alone. We require community and a return to our oneness with water and Earth. This is how the book ends: an illustration of people of all races and genders, armed with signs, fighting together against oil pipelines and the contamination of our water.

              When discussing climate change, particularly the very real dangers of oil spills, it can be difficult to keep the mood from falling into a pit of despair and anger. What was refreshing about We Are Water Protectors is that it acknowledges the real fear and frustration with oil pipelines specifically but refuses to give into the doom and gloom. The vibrant illustrations bolster the mood and ensure we don’t fall into despair. The mood of the book starts calm and blissful; the water is in every part of the tribe’s lives and we see a beautiful sunrise/set (it is not clear which it may be) that is soft, gentle, and incredibly peaceful to the audience. But the introduction of the black snake/oil pipeline shatters this peacefulness and requires the reader to have awareness of how things may change if this snake takes over. Lindstrom (2020) writes, about the black snake, “Its venom burns the land. Courses through the water, making it unfit to drink” (para. 8), set in between the twists of the black snake, set against a deep orange, with plants attempting to grow but dying. This mood change happens for exactly one page. The immediate next page is bright with the blue of the water and the main character charging forward with a feather, her arm raised, and her face serious. The rest of the book uplifts the reader and allows room for hope without reducing the anger and the worry caused by this black snake. By the end of the book, the mood is righteous, full of eagerness and a sense of community. To capture this mood, the book ends with an Earth Steward and Water Protector Pledge that readers can sign and date.

              The point of view in this book is not hidden anywhere; it practically leaps off the page, especially through the usage of the illustrations of the young main character, with a determined face. What drives home the point of view of this book is furthered by the Author’s Note, which expands upon why the author chose this story to tell. Current events, like the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in 2016, compelled the author to bring a story like We Are Water Protectors to the public and to children in particular. Carole Lindstrom (2020), the author, states that she “is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe” (Author’s Note), which is also located in North Dakota where the DAPL protests occurred. After reading the book and the Author’s Note, I realized I had a personal connection to this story as well. In 2016, in my undergraduate studies, a few students at my college traveled to North Dakota to join in the DAPL protests; unfortunately, on their way home, they were involved in a car crash and one student passed away. I felt incredibly moved by the decision to highlight the DAPL protests and the Ojibwe tribe and to emphasize, strongly, that we need to stand against and fight oil pipelines, whether that be through going to a protest, providing financial aid, or creating art like We Are Water Protectors. Ultimately, the point of view of the author is not a controversial one, but it is a strong one and it upholds the idea that to fight oppression, like oil pipelines and climate change, we must act as a community.

Recommendation:

              Having conversations with children about things like climate change and oil pipelines can be intimidating, but We Are Water Protectors provides a simple but effective bridge to cross to address these topics. I would highly recommend to very young readers, as the book is simple.

References:

BookList. (2020, March). We are water protectors. https://www.booklistonline.com/products/9730736

Lindstrom, C. (2020). We are water protectors. (M. Goade, Illus). Roaring Book Press.

[plazos]

We Are Water Protectors

We Are Water Protectors

Stories and prophecies surrounding Mother Earth and Father Sky are abundant in indigenous folklore and Indigenous People have long protected the earth from those who would seek to abuse her resources. That’s why it is so wonderful to see that storytelling tradition carried on using today’s media outlets. Carole Lindstrom, an Anishinaabe/Metis enrolled as a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of…

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[warwicksteens]

Caldecott 2021: We Are Water Protectors

In this tribute to Native resilience, Indigenous author-and-illustrator team Lindstrom and Goade invite readers to stand up for environmental justice. "Water is the first medicine," a young, unnamed protagonist reflects as she wades into a river with her grandmother. "We come from water." Stunning illustrations, rich in symbolism from the creators' respective Ojibwe and Tlingit/Haida lineages, bring the dark-haired, brown-skinned child's narrative to life as she recounts an Anishinaabe prophecy: One day, a "black snake" will terrorize her community and threaten water, animals, and land. "Now the black snake is here," the narrator proclaims, connecting the legend to the present-day threat of oil pipelines being built on Native lands. Though its image is fearsome, younger audiences aren't likely to be frightened due to Goade's vibrant, uplifting focus on collective power. Awash in brilliant colors and atmospheric studies of light, the girl emphasizes the importance of protecting "those who cannot fight for themselves" and understanding that on Earth, "we are all related." Themes of ancestry, community responsibility, and shared inheritance run throughout. Where the brave protagonist is depicted alongside her community, the illustrations feature people of all ages, skin tones, and clothing styles. Lindstrom's powerful message includes non-Native and Native readers alike: "We are stewards of the Earth. We are water protectors." An inspiring call to action for all who care about our interconnected planet.

[roesolo]

It's Earth Day! Resources and reading for you and your family

It's #EarthDay! Resources and reading for you and your family @MacKidsSL

It’s Earth Day! I’ve got more books to gush about, and some resources, too.

We Are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom/Illustrated by MIchaela Goade, (March 2020, Roaring Brook Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781250203557

Ages 3-10

The first book up is one of the most visually stunning books I’ve read this year – and the lyrical prose reads like a prayer, a poem, a witnessing. Inspired by the Standing…

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[amillionlitllebooks]

Dicas de Livros que Apresentam a Natureza

Dicas de Livros que Apresentam a Natureza

  Uma coisa que eu gosto muito é de ver listas de livros para ler. Ajuda naquela ressaca literária, bloqueio literário e também no “não tenho nada pra ler!”, enquanto olha todos aqueles livros não lidos que estão na sua frente. Então vou tentar fazer uma lista a cada semana (se a faculdade deixar) com algumas listas que eu vejo por aí, espalhadas pela internet. Essa lista tem foco na natureza…

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