{"id":39641,"date":"2024-03-28T21:40:13","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T01:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39641"},"modified":"2024-03-28T21:40:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T01:40:13","slug":"review-of-on-the-trapline-by-david-a-robertson-and-julie-flett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39641","title":{"rendered":"Review of On the Trapline, by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On the Trapline<\/em><\/p>\n

by David A. Robertson
\nillustrated by Julie Flett<\/p>\n

Tundra Books, 2021. 40 pages.
\nReview written June 30, 2021, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how this picture book, On the Trapline<\/em>, begins:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on my way up north because Moshom, my grandpa, is taking me to his trapline. I\u2019ve never been there before, and Moshom says he hasn\u2019t been since he was a kid like me. When I look out the window, all I can see are trees and water. The lakes look like blue clouds in a green sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s a trapline?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraplines are where people hunt animals and live off the land,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When we touch down in the community, Moshom\u2019s old friend is waiting for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cTansi,\u201d he says to Moshom.<\/p>\n

\u201cTansi,\u201d Moshom says to him. Moshom speaks Swampy Cree when he\u2019s around friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi,\u201d I say. That\u2019s what tansi means in English.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story continues from there, with Moshom showing his granddaughter where he lived growing up. They begin with the community where they landed, which is where Moshom\u2019s family lived after they left the trapline. He tells what it was like to attend school there, when they were not allowed to speak Cree, but snuck into the bush to do so.<\/p>\n

To get to the trapline, they have to take a boat across a river to a beautiful shore. Moshom tells what it was like living there, too.<\/p>\n

Each spread is gentle and beautiful. The pictures have soft, muted tones. The text is simple and lovely. I enjoy lines such as, \u201cThe river is wide, but Moshom\u2019s smile is even wider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each spread ends with a word or two in Cree that relates to that page, such as:<\/p>\n

K?w?w means \u201che goes home.\u201d
\nNatinamak?win means \u201csharing.\u201d
\nEkosani means \u201cthank you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the story of an elder sharing his story with a new generation, and it\u2019s done with dignity, love, and great respect. I had to read this one a second time and sit with it for a moment before I could go on to other picture books.<\/p>\n

penguinrandomhouse.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

What did you think of this book?<\/p>\n

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I\u2019m posting the oldest reviews I\u2019ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They\u2019re still good books!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the Trapline by David A. Robertson illustrated by Julie Flett Tundra Books, 2021. 40 pages. Review written June 30, 2021, from a library book Starred Review Here\u2019s how this picture book, On the Trapline, begins: I\u2019m on my way up north because Moshom, my grandpa, is taking me to his trapline. I\u2019ve never been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,15,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-historical","category-picture-book-review","category-starred-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39641"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43526,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39641\/revisions\/43526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}