Nutshimit: In The Woods

Forest bathing with Melissa Mollen Dupuis and Elise Gravel while reading Nutshimit: In the Woods, a non fiction book all about Innu culture and teachings.

Melissa Mollen Dupuis, an Innu writer from Ekuanitshit, takes readers on a walk through the forest to bathe in its beauty and to teach about the flora and fauna that are very important to the Innu people.

This non fiction expository literature/interactive title introduces readers to the Innu culture and in a unique way. With Melissa as the narrator, readers experience a personalized guided tour through the woods she calls home. While on our walk through the pages we learn about trees, and other flora, animals and she bestows upon us some fun activities and recipes we can try when we take a trip out into the actual forest, or really any green space nearby.

Throughout the book, Melissa shares many different Innu words for the things alive in the forest as well as some more words at the back of the book that didn’t come up along the walk but are common words in the language. Readers can tell that this book was written from the heart as a way to ensure that readers know and understand that the Innu people have been around since time immemorial and continue to share knowledge with the younger generations. Don’t skip on the extras with this book and head to Scholastic Canada’s website to check out all of the recipe and activity ideas you can do at home

Elise Gravel’s illustrations are perfect for this walk in the forest. I love how all of the flora and fauna have a cartoon quality but are still realistic enough for readers to be able to identify in the wild.