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The First Blade of Sweetgrass: A Native American Story
Musqon and her grandmother, whom she calls Uhkomi, arrive at the salt marsh to pick sweetgrass, which their family has done for generations. Sweetgrass, or welimahaskil in the Passamaquoddy-Maliseet language, is used in ceremony and to make baskets. Uhkomi tells Musqon how to identify sweetgrass among the other types of grass in the marsh. Musqon has trouble finding it at first and picks the wrong type of grass. Uhkomi gently reminds her that her ancestors are there to guide her, and soon Musqon smells sweetgrass and learns to spot the emerald green of its blade. As her grandmother instructed, she does not pick the first piece she sees; that way, they will never pick the last one. As the story ends, Musqon thinks that perhaps next year she’ll teach her little sister how to pick sweetgrass. The muted illustrations, done mostly in earth tones and greens on brown paper, are an excellent match for the quiet story. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Nancy Baker
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-7
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
First/Native Nations
Grandmothers
Traditions
Wabanaki People
Diversity subject:
Indigenous
Publisher:
Tilbury House
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780884487609
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Greenlaw