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Thomas, Rebecca

Swift Fox All Along

32 pp. | Annick | September, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-77321-448-1 $18.95 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-77321-449-8 $14.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maya McKibbin. Swift Fox's dad is coming to visit. Unlike their usual visits, today Dad will be driving her to meet her family on the reserve: "Today you're going to learn how to be Mi'kmaq." The girl is apprehensive ("What's Mi'kmaq?") and her father's response doesn't help: "It's how you walk, talk, and think." When she gets to her family's home, she is greeted by aunts, uncles, and cousins. The earth-toned, digital-looking illustrations depict a family of varying skin tones, hair colors, and textures; Swift Fox can easily see the resemblance among them and to herself. However, her uncertainty about the unfamiliar smudging ceremony leads her to run from the house. Eventually the smell of her dad's fry bread--something warm and familiar--brings her back. Readers can relate to the fear of meeting new people and learning new traditions; throughout the illustrations there are butterflies, a reminder of how the character's "belly fills with" them. The story authentically depicts how a child might feel being introduced to a culture that they haven't had the opportunity to participate in regularly. In the author's note, we learn that Thomas grew up "off-reserve," and that, like Swift Fox's father, her dad did his best to teach her what it means to be Mi'kmaq.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

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