The story of “The Gathering” is about Alex who is going away with her aunt, uncle and cousin Matthew to attend her first mawiomi (the gathering of people). Since it is all new to Alex she stays close to Matthew and asks him lots of questions which is how the reader learns about the same event as Alex. There is music, dance, story telling, and a Talking Circle. Alex is also exposed to traditional activities like preparation of a moose hide, moccasin decorations, and canoe building.
Since this is a book published in Canada, First Nation is the term used for the original inhabitants of Canada.
The illustrations are colorful but there is a lot of text which makes it less appropriate as a picture book for a younger age group.
As of writing this review there was no review available on Debbie reese’s blog “American Indians in Children’s Literature”. Both the author and illustrator are First Nation people.
Oral
2nd - 4th grade
AD+ ( )