Play

The brilliant Julie Flett has gifted us with another treasure. We All Play/kimêtawânaw is a sweet little story about play, the focus of childhood.

We all play, just as the title suggests, animals play and humans play, we form bonds and learn from each other through play. We make connections with each other and the creatures with which we share the land. Told very simply and plainly this book is perfect for your youngest readers and those who would like to play once more.

Throughout the whole story, readers can play along with the characters. There are many action words that you can enact while reading through, perhaps your reader is wiggly and wobbly, pull out We All Play and wiggle and wobble along with the animals in the story. The story incorporates the Cree word for we play - kimêtawânaw, learn it through the pronunciation guide at the back and don’t skip reading it throughout. It grounds the story and offers places to pause, to go back and re-examine the delightful creatures moving about.

It’s hard for me to describe the beauty of Julie Flett’s illustrations. They may appear simple but contain so much beauty and wonder. I am always drawn to the books she illustrates, whether she has written them or has taken another author’s words and interpreted them. Her colours are of the land and tell the story of the land they reflect.

Greystone Books has an INCREDIBLE teachers/parent guide on their website as well as a pronunciation guide for the Cree names of all of the animals featured in the story. Julie Flett has provided readers with an amazing opportunity to not only learn the Cree names for the animals in the story but also encourages readers (teachers and parents) to explore the Indigenous languages that are part of the land where they live. For the month of June We All Play/kimêtawânaw can act as a jumping off point to share Indigenous culture, language and history with your children at home or with the children who are part of your lives, students, family, friends, neighbours.