Douglas & McIntyre is pleased to announce that Bridget George’s It’s a Mitig! ($22.95) has been selected as this year’s First Nation Communities READ winner in the Children’s Category. Phyllis Webstad and Joan Sorley and their book, Orange Shirt Day September 30 (Medicine Wheel Education, $32.99) was selected in the Young Adult/Adult category. Chosen by a jury of Indigenous librarians from across Ontario, these titles represent the very best of Indigenous literature.
Sponsored by Periodical Marketers of Canada, The PMC Indigenous Literature Award comes with a prize of $5000 for each author. The selected titles will be recognized on-line at the Virtual Word on the Street Festival in Toronto on Sunday, September 26, 2021.
Written and illustrated by Bridget George, It’s a Mitig! was originally created for the author’s son when she couldn’t find any Ojibwe children’s books.
“I’m so honoured to receive the FNCR award, and to hear the positive impact It’s a Mitig! has had for families and in classrooms and libraries is so incredibly heartwarming,” says George on the announcement. “Language reclamation and learning is an important and lifelong commitment. It isn’t always easy, but it is truly healing, especially when we take our little ones on the journey with us. I’m glad that It’s a Mitig! can even be a teeny tiny piece of that journey for families like mine through increased access in First Nation’s libraries across Ontario thanks to FNCR. Chi-Miigwetch.”
It’s a Mitig! guides young children (ages 3-5) through the forest while introducing them to Ojibwe words for nature. From sunup to sundown, readers encounter an amik (beaver) playing with sticks and swimming in the river, a prickly gaag (porcupine) hiding in the bushes and a big, bark-covered mitig (tree).
Featuring vibrant and playful artwork, an illustrated Ojibwe-to-English glossary and a simple introduction to the double-vowel pronunciation system, plus accompanying online recordings, It’s a Mitig! is one of the first books of its kind.
Visit the author’s website to see the It’s a Mitig! pronunciation video: https://bridgetgeorge.com/its-a-mitig.
Bridget George is an Anishinaabe author-illustrator, graphic designer and mother to a lovely baby boy named Noah. She was raised on the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation in Ontario and she currently lives in London, ON. This is her first book.
For more information on First Nation Communities READ visit https://olservice.ca/first-nations/about-first-nations-communities-read.
