Xapa to the World

Tag: Jan Andrews

  • FIAR Vol. 1 – Very Last First Time

    FIAR Vol. 1 – Very Last First Time

    I love “First times!” in life, don’t you? My husband and I have a running gag whenever we drive down a new road – I usually shout out “First time!” and it’s exciting! This book was a fun read for us, as we do not live near the ocean, tundra, or a fishing community. But we know what it’s like to experience something for the first time, or to finally be “big enough” to do something by ourselves.

    Jan Andrews, the author, is not indigenous so the story is from her observations and gleaning the traditions around her. There can be value if that is done respectfully, but I was able to find some stories by indigenous authors and illustrators.

    Social Studies

    I pre-read the book “A Promise is a Promise” before reading it with the kids. It is a cautionary Inuit tale of the Qallupilluit, mythical creatures who live under the ice near the Arctic coastline and threaten to capture any children who come too close to the water’s edge. This story reminds me of the book “Hunt, Gather, Parent” by Michaeleen Ducleff which highlights (among other things) how ancient cultures often told scary stories to keep children within certain boundaries of protection in the community. It is a really interesting read and I was surprised when our family went to the Great Lakes for vacation and my daughter told me she couldn’t get too close to the water because the creatures might take her. I guess it worked!

    Art

    Ian Wallace integrates a kind of pointillism with impressionism to express fine details in the landscape in this book. I remember when I first saw a pointillist drawing and was fascinated! Katie’s Sunday Afternoon builds on that technique and introduces some famous pointillists and impressionist painters.

    Math

    We learn our numbers and then learn what we call those numbers when they’re in a series, or our ordinal numbers (numbers in order). This book had a lot of great number facts and even some concepts that were a little advanced for my kiddos at the time.

    Science

    I am definitely a summer kind of person, so the tundra life is something I really only want to read about unless it’s warm-season visit. Water Can Be… is a simple language book, but opens the imagination and gave us lots to talk about. Plus, the illustrations are lovely.

    Other books

    Kids are always finding small things and examining them intensely – puddles, ants, one year we have leopard slugs on our front stoop and we spent the better part of an hour watching them zip around the stone and finally into the grass.Hello, Puddle! is an excellent book to remind us to look smaller to see how big our world is.

    Crab Cake is about a community coming together with all their skills to restore their habitat. And, of course, poetry is always a good time!

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    Complete Booklist:

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