Your cart is empty.

Amo's Sapotawan

By William Dumas
Illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson
Series: The Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak
Imprint: HighWater Press

Categories: Children's Fiction, Indigenous, Pre-Confederation (to 1867), Business, Careers, Occupations, Girls & Women
Big Ideas: Aspects of Indigenous Cultures, Spirituality and Ceremony, Worldviews, Teachings, and Protocols, Authentic Indigenous History, STEM, Seasonal Cycles, Strong Female Characters
Cultures & Peoples: Cree, Asiniskaw Ithiniwak (Rocky Cree)
Indigenous Languages: Cree, Rocky Cree, Words or Phrases

Interest Age: 9–11
Grade: 4–6
Reading Level: Fountas & Pinnell X, Lexile® Framework for Reading: 1040
Hardcover : 9781553799290, 60 pages, September 2022
Ebook (PDF) : 9781774920398, 60 pages, November 2022

A Rocky Cree girl must choose the skill that will define her miskanaw, the path of her life, in the second book of The Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak series.

Description

★ Starred selection for CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens 2023!

Rocky Cree people understand that all children are born with four gifts or talents. When a child is old enough, they decide which gift, or mīthikowisiwin, they will seek to master. With her sapotawan ceremony fast approaching, Amō must choose her mīthikowisiwin. Her sister, Pīsim, became a midwife; others gather medicines or harvest fish. But none of those feel quite right.

Amō has always loved making things. Her uncle can show her how to make nipisiwata, willow baskets. Her grandmother can teach her how to make kwakwāywata, birchbark containers and plates. Her auntie has offered to begin Amō’s apprenticeship in making askihkwak, pottery.

What will Amō’s mīthikowisiwin be? Which skill should she choose? And how will she know what is right for her?

Awards

  • Joint winner, Manitoba Book Awards 2023
  • Long-listed, PMC Indigenous Literature Award 2023

Reviews

Incredibly rich in detail, historical notes, and culture, Pīsim Finds Her Miskanaw and Amō’s Sapotawan are both great introductions to Rocky Cree history and culture as well as gentle, heartwarming stories about finding oneself.

The Library Ladies

Among American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) Best Books 2022

American Indians in Children's Literature

This is an ambitious, gorgeous production. Illustrations by Rhian Brynjolson are crisp and colorful, perfect for a children’s book. The graphic design combining story and sidebar information is exceptionally well done, including a broad topographical map on the first inside spread to show exactly where we are.

Terry Hammond, World Comic Book Review

Among CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens 2023, starred selection of exceptional caliber

CCBC