Boozhoo!=Hello!

Boozhoo! Hello!, written and illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley and translated into English by Mary Ann Corbiere, is written in Anishinaabemowin and translated below on each page. The writing is also conveniently colour coded to be able to more easily match up words/phrases in Anishinaabemowin and English. Boozhoo! Hello! takes young readers through a journey reminiscent of Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Polar Bear Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr., with a nod to Goodnight, Owl thrown in for good measure. Story-goers travel through the Anishinaabe woodlands, encountering various, traditional animal relatives along the way, including a wolf, deer, rabbit, bees, a crow, chickadees, a fox, and an otter, among others.

Pawis-Steckley began this book as simply drawings for his infant daughter, paired with common verbs, and, as she grew, so did his idea to turn the drawings into a book with more text so they could read together and learn their language together. Pawis-Steckley sees this book as an important tool for Indigenous families to use with their children to think and learn about their languages.

Pawis-Steckley’s cover page and story illustrations are bold and captivating, leaving readers to explore the colours and patterns and opening the door for adults to educate youngsters about the Woodland style of artistry. Additionally, with the relatively straightforward style, children are likely able to mimic the artistry to create their own animals and continue with the storyline if they wish! This may be a wonderful activity for teachers to engage in with their students, and a strong connection can be made to pop art with the bold lines and simple colour schemes. Pawis-Steckley also draws readers in on the first illustration when he asks, “It’s morning in the woods. What do you see?” The accompanying illustration shows a meadow with trees and a sunrise, and a small animal peeking up over a hill will delight readers into guessing what kind of animal it is (particularly if they are already familiar with Brown Bear Brown Bea). Unfortunately, this predictive theme is not carried on throughout the book; while the text does prompt or ask the reader what they hear or see, there are no indicative hints on the accompanying illustration to allow listeners to guess. Children who are being read aloud to will need extensive prompting and perhaps prior discussion or teachings about woodland animals to assist in making accurate predictions.

As mentioned earlier, those that have read Bill Martin Jr’s books will recognize the similarity to his style immediately, including the addition of children at the end; however, there is likely a case of ‘lost in translation’ which leads to a partial feeling of unfulfillment. In the translator’s note at the end of the story, Corbiere acknowledges that her translations reflect the Nishnaabemwin (Ojibwe) dialect which is her first language. Additionally, there is often not a word-for-word translation equivalent, with Indigenous words sometimes carrying ideas in them or a ‘phrase’ within one word. As such, the translation to English does not carry the same satisfying rhythm or cadence that readers or listeners might be expecting from their experience with Martin Jr’s books. Another awkward element of this book is that there is no indication of time passing; readers are introduced to the morning or beginning of the day at the start of the book, but there are no consistent clues to the sun’s passage in the illustrations, and readers may be shocked by the sudden transition to an owl at night on the last page, with the declaration that it’s time to sleep now! After an initial read-through, adults will wonder when is the best time to read this story again: bedtime, or anytime?

From a personal standpoint, my continual plea for authors presenting dual-language books or even books that just have standalone words or phrases in other languages is to provide a pronunciation guide for those unfamiliar with the language. I understand and acknowledge my privilege, however, by ‘assuming’ that this book is written for me as an intended audience, which it is obviously not (as indicated by the author in his note at the end of the book). Consequently, this is not a book that I would add to my personal library or my school library for continuous reading unless there were students already familiar with Anishinaabemowin as this is not a language ‘teaching’ book; this is a dual language book for those with some prior knowledge. I would, however, add this book to my teaching repertoire for art and educational purposes. Boozhoo! Hello! is a beautiful storybook and a much-needed addition to Indigenous publications with regards to culture, art, and language, but it may not be the right book for everyone.