The Cherokee community is grateful for blessings and challenges that each season brings. This is modern Native American life as told by an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction for children featuring
contemporary characters and compelling biographies. She is an
enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern
Oklahoma, where her tribe is located.
Frane Lessac is the illustrator of more than forty books for
children. She has lived on the small Caribbean island of
Montserrat, in London, and in Australia, and her work has taken her
on many adventures in numerous countries. www.franelessac.com
* According to storyteller Sorell, the Cherokee people always
express gratitude for the little things they are given by saying
the phrase, "Otsaliheliga," or "we are grateful." Raised in the
Cherokee Nation, Sorell intentionally crafts a narrative that
simultaneously embraces modernity and a traditional presentation of
Cherokee community and way of life. Throughout, the measured text
reminds readers that in all things "we say otsaliheliga." Colorful,
folk art-style illustrations show Cherokee people during
ceremonies, in family gatherings large and small, and outdoors
enjoying each of the four seasons, always expressing gratitude. The
scenes are contemporary; one shows a father taking care of his
children, engaging in a positive parenting role, while another
depicts a family seeing off a relative who is leaving for
deployment in the military, underscoring that Cherokee people serve
their country. Children participate in rites and in family outings
with adults, and they also play traditional games such as stickball
and plant strawberries, a practice that reminds their people to
embrace peace with one another. The variety of skin tones
represented in the illustrations likewise depicts a present-day
reflection of the diversity that exists within the Cherokee people.
Occasional Cherokee words are written in Romanized form,
phonetically, in Cherokee characters, and in English—a lovely grace
note. A gracious, warm, and loving celebration of community and
gratitude.
—Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW
* Cherokee people say otsaliheliga to express gratitude. It is
a reminder to celebrate our blessings and reflect on struggles —
daily, throughout the year, and across the seasons.” An extended
family engages with activities and traditions that express
gratitude and carry on Cherokee history and culture, such as stomp
dancing at the Great New Moon Ceremony, basket weaving, making
corn-husk dolls, and playing stickball. The book underscores the
importance of traditions and carrying on a Cherokee way of life
while simultaneously incorporating modernity and challenging dated
media images of Indigenous people. Here, a father sporting an
earring and a topknot minds the children; a family bids goodbye to
a clan relative who deploys with the U.S. military. Skin colors
range from light to dark, visually underscoring the book’s message
of diversity and inclusion. Staying firmly upbeat and idyllic, the
cheerful, richly detailed gouache illustrations in bright,
saturated colors cycle through the seasons, beginning with the
Cherokee New Year in autumn. The text includes several Cherokee
words; a line of text in a smaller font along the bottom of the
page provides each word as written in the English alphabet, its
phonetic pronunciation, the word as written in the Cherokee
alphabet, and its definition. A glossary, an author’s note on
Cherokee culture, and a complete Cherokee syllabary conclude this
attractive and informative book.
—Horn Book STARRED REVIEW
* Sorell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, offers readers a look
at contemporary Cherokee life as she follows a family through the
seasons of the year as they take part in ceremonies and festivals.
The book opens, “Cherokee people say otsaliheliga to express
gratitude. It is a reminder to celebrate our blessings and reflect
on struggles—daily, throughout the year….” Beginning in the fall
(uligohvsdi) with the Cherokee New Year, a variety of rituals and
cultural symbols are introduced, all in spare, lyrical, accessible
language. Traditional foods, crafts, and songs are part of the
engaging narrative, as is the refrain, “we say otsaliheliga.” Once
through the calendar, Sorell circles back to the Cherokee National
Holiday (Labor Day weekend), “when we recall the ancestors’
sacrifices to preserve our way of life…. to celebrate
nulistanidolv, history, and listen to our tribal leaders speak.”
Cherokee words are presented both phonetically and written in the
Cherokee syllabary. Lessac’s lovely gouache folk-art style
paintings bring the scenes to life. Back matter includes a
description of the various ceremonies, notes, and a page devoted to
the Cherokee syllabary. VERDICT This informative and authentic
introduction to a thriving ancestral and ceremonial way of life is
perfect for holiday and family sharing.
—School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW
* Cherokee poet Traci Sorell makes her picture book debut with We
Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by theprolific Frané
Lessac."Cherokee people say otsaliheliga to express gratitude. It
is a reminder to celebrate our blessings and reflect
onstruggles--daily, throughout the year, and across the seasons."
With seasonal chapter headings in both English andTsalagi,
Cherokee, Sorell takes the reader through a year in the life of
contemporary citizens of the CherokeeNation. Using the refrain "we
say otsaliheliga" (pronounced oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah), each season
is given specialjoys, sorrows and celebrations both specific and
generic, personal and communal. In autumn (uligohvsdi), gratitude
is voiced as shell shakers dance around the fire during the Great
New Moon Ceremony; it is expressed ascitizens of the Cherokee
Nation clean their homes, don new clothes and feast to welcome the
Cherokee New Year; it is communicated throughacts of remembrance
for "ancestors who suffered hardship and loss on the Trail of
Tears." In winter (gola), "[a]s bears sleep deep and snowblankets
the ground," the large, tightly knit community is thankful for the
stories of elders and for traditional lullabies.Lessac's folk
art-style gouache illustrations depict the diversity of
contemporary life experiences described in Sorell's text. On one
spread, thefamily hugs a "clan relative" dressed in fatigues as he
heads off "to serve our country"; on another, children play in a
cornfield as "the cropsmature and the sun scorches." In Sorell's
author note, she says "Cherokee culture places a strong emphasis on
expressing gratitude tounelanvhi... literally 'the one who provides
all,' " as well as for "one another." An elegant representation of
this concept, We Are Grateful has the ability to resonate with any
reader: "Otsaliheliga for all who came before us, those here now,
and those yet to come."
—Shelf Awareness STARRED REVIEW
In Cherokee culture, Sorell shares, the expression of gratitude is
part of daily life and extends from elaborate celebrations to
struggles to ordinary life moments. She organizes her debut picture
book by seasons, beginning with the fall, which is a time for
collecting foliage for basket making and remembering those who
suffered on the Trail of Tears. It also contains the Cherokee New
Year and the Great New Moon Ceremony, a celebration of renewal and
coming together. Each season section starts with the name of the
season in Cherokee, an expression of gratitude for the change in
nature, and subsequent pages describing community activities
pertinent to that season. Lessac's folkloric illustration in bright
gouache colors stands in pleasing contrast to the book’s
contemporary feel and setting. The text reads like poetry but has a
gentle instructional dimension to it. On many pages, Cherokee words
are accompanied by English translations, pronunciation guides, and
Cherokee syllabary. Back matter contains relevant explanations and
provides good context, and the author's note sets past
misrepresentations right.
—Booklist
Cheerful, richly detailed folk art-style illustrations in bright,
saturated colors show contemporary Cherokee life as one family
participates in cermonies and festivals through each season of the
year.
—Book Links, included in Middle Grade Mania roundup
The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members
of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. This is an amazing
story that describes a journey through the seasons with a
modern-day Cherokee family. Readers learn about Cherokee culture,
celebrations, and language. Cherokee history and traditions are
also seamlessly woven into the story in a very kid-friendly way. I
love that this is an #OwnVoices picture book that helps expose
children to Native American perspectives and culture. The back
matter includes pronunciations for Cherokee words, a glossary, a
Cherokee syllabary, and a personal author's note.
—Brightly
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