
Children's Fiction Native Canadian
Benjamin's Thunderstorm
- Publisher
- Kids Can Press
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2023
- Category
- Native Canadian, Weather, Dance
- Recommended Age
- 3 to 7
- Recommended Grade
- p to 2
- Recommended Reading age
- 3 to 7
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781525303203
- Publish Date
- Sep 2023
- List Price
- $21.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
A thunderstorm evokes a boy's family traditions, in this rainy-day story from award-winning author Melanie Florence.
Benjamin loves the rain. He loves splashing through puddles in his bright yellow rain boots and watching the colors of a rainbow in the water as they ripple around his feet. But most of all, Benjamin loves thunder. To him, thunder --- piyêsiwak --- sounds like his grandfather's drum. It calls to him, like the songs his grandfather plays while his father and other powwow dancers spin and step in time to the drumbeat. As Benjamin hears the thunder rumble overhead, he imagines himself as a powwow dancer. He spins, he taps his feet and he lifts his knees. Faster and faster he twirls, delighted by and filled with the rhythm of piyêsiwak.
This artfully written story from award-winning author Melanie Florence celebrates both the universal joys of playing in the rain and the connections to family traditions that center and ground us. Elements of Cree powwow culture and Cree words for colors and weather are interwoven into the story, with a pronunciation guide in the back matter. The vibrant and eye-catching art by Hawlii Pichette, inspired by the scenery of northern Ontario, adds drama to the pages. This inviting picture book makes a perfect read-aloud for a rainy day, as well as an excellent introduction to Cree cultural traditions, local communities and experiencing nature firsthand.
About the authors
Melanie Florence est auteure canadienne de descendance crie et écossaise. Son premier livre, Jordin Tootoo: The Highs and Lows of the First Inuit to Play in the NHL , a été choisi comme livre d'honneur par l'American Indian Library Association. Ses œuvres de fiction sont le roman pour ados One Night ainsi que l'album illustré Missing Nimama, gagnant du Prix TD de la littérature jeunesse. Melanie habite à Toronto.
MELANIE FLORENCE is an award-winning writer of Cree and Scottish heritage based in Toronto, Ontario. She is the author of Missing Nimâmâ, which won the 2016 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the 2017 Forest of Reading Golden Oak Award and was a finalist for the 2017 First Nation Communities READ award. Her most recent picture book, Stolen Words, won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award and was a finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Her other books include Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Residential Schools and the teen novels Just Lucky, He Who Dreams, The Missing, One Night, and Rez Runaway. Visit her at https://www.melanieflorence.com/.
Melanie Florence's profile page
Hawlii Pichette is a Mushkego Cree (Treaty 9) urban mixed-blood artist and illustrator. Born and raised in the small community of Cochrane, Ontario, she is deeply influenced by her culture, her upbringing and the natural world. She lives in London, Ontario.
Other titles by Melanie Florence

Le jardin de Kaiah

Kaiah’s Garden

Righting Canada's Wrongs 2023 set
8 volume set + free resource guide

Legends of Funland

Autumn Bird and the Runaway

Righting Canada's Wrongs: Residential Schools
The Devastating Impact on Canada's Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Findings and Calls for Action

Missing Nimâmâ

Dreaming in Color

Just Lucky
