Congratulations to Michaela Goade! She’s just been awarded the Caldecott Honor Award for her picture book Berry Song, which she both wrote and illustrated. Published in 2022 by Little, Brown, the book is a luscious feast of storytelling centered around a grandmother and her granddaughter picking wild berries. It celebrates the bounty of nature, the cultural and spiritual connections between people and their environment, and the continuity of Tlingit teachings about that relationship.

Not surprisingly, given Goade’s skills as an illustrator, the pictures are gorgeous, as lush, dreamy, and detailed as the rainforests of Southeast Alaska, where she grew up and lives. In 2021 Goade received the Caldecott Medal for her work in the book We Are Water Protectors, written by Carol Lindstrom, thus becoming the first Alaska Native and indigenous artist to win the prestigious award.

The text, too, is lovely. Rhythmic, with rich words, deliberate pacing, and concise phrasing, it subtly conveys an overall pattern and themes that reflect the values of the Tlingit Nation, of which she is a member. Gratitude and interconnectedness permeate the book; a recognition that we humans are not just part of nature, but live in a deeply reciprocal relationship with our environment. As Goade states in a two-page Note from the Author, “Berries hold great symbolic and spiritual significance. They connect us to land, community, and culture. They remind us of home.”

Though the main text is in English, a few Tlingit words are smoothly tucked into the narrative, such as gunalchéesh (thank you). Tlingit names for berries appear in an illustration, in the author’s note alongside photos of berries and, more extensively in both Tlingit and English, in the endpapers, which are beautifully illustrated with a variety of berries.

Goade’s work melds artistry with deep roots to landscape and culture that are life-affirming and heartening. Berry Song is a gift to readers. Gunalshéesh! Thank you for your work, Michaela Goade, and congratulations!

Baby Raven Reads

I’m thrilled to see Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) filling a much-needed gap in Alaskan children’s literature with their well-designed, age-appropriate, culturally accurate picture books for kids.

Baby Raven Reads is a program implemented by Sealaska Heritage, a regional Native nonprofit corporation, through grant funding from the US Department of Education’s Alaska Native Education Program. Their goal is to promote “love of learning through culture and community.” Baby Raven Reads includes family events for young children, as well as the creation of an exemplary collection of picture books centered around Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures in Southeast Alaska. In 2017 the Library of Congress recognized Baby Raven Reads as a “Best Practice Honoree” with their Literacy Award.

Their Raven series includes three stories adapted from the scholarly works of Nora and Richard Dauenhauer, who devoted much of their careers to transcribing oral accounts by Tlingit Elders. Raven and the Tide Lady, beautifully illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade (Tlingit name Sheit.een), was published in 2018. 

Raven and the Tide Lady,
illustrated by Michaela Goade.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

In the story, Raven forces the Tide Lady to allow low tides so animals and people can harvest food from the ocean.

The Tide Lady refuses Raven's approach.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

In Raven Makes the Aleutians, illustrated by Haida artist Janine Gibbons and published in 2018, a great flood leaves Raven exhausted from searching for land. 

Raven Makes the Aleutians,
illustrated by Janine Gibbons.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Raven solicits the help of a sea otter to create the Aleutian Islands, thus providing Raven a place to rest as he flies back toward the mainland. The islands remain today as the homeland of the Unangan and Alutiiq people. Gibbons' bold illustrations emphasize the contrast between sea, land, and sky.

Raven tosses pebbles into the sea.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

In a third story, Raven Loses His Nose, published in 2018 and illustrated by Tsimshian artist David Lang, Raven’s legendary greed gets him into trouble, causing him to lose his nose.

Raven loses his Nose,
illustrated by David Lang.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

A selection of additional titles includes:

How Devil’s Club Came to Be by Miranda Rose Kaagwéil Worl, illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade, published in 2017. This original story is inspired by oral tradition but is not a traditional Tlingit tale. 

How Devil's Club Came to Be,
illustrated by Michaela Goade.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

In it, Raven’s niece sets out on a hero’s journey to save her village from a terrible illness. The illustrations are striking and evocative.

Raven's niece on her journey.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

The Woman Who Married the Bear, adapted by Frank Henry Kaash Katasse, was published in 2017 and illustrated by Haida artist Janine Gibbons.

The Woman Who Married the Bear,
illustrated by Janine Gibbons.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Presented as a story-within-a-story, this Tlingit teaching tale cautions children to respect the bears and not to go into the forest by themselves at the berry-picking time of year.

The woman and the bear walk into the forest.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Shanyaak’utlaax — Salmon Boy, published in 2017, is bilingual throughout in Tlingit and English. Illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade, it was adapted from oral tradition and edited by Johnny Marks, Hans Chester, David Katzeek, Nora Dauenhauer, and Richard Dauenhauer. A preface explains that this is a Kiks.ádi story, with variant versions owned by other Raven Clans. In this tale a boy is captured by the Salmon People for disrespecting the food they provide.

Shanyaak'utlaax -- Salmon Boy,
illustrated by Michaela Goade.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

He becomes a salmon, eventually returning to his home and family when the salmon migrate from the sea. His story illustrates the need for humans to respect and understand the relationship between humans and their environment.

Salmon Boy returns to his mother.
Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Shanyaak’utlaax — Salmon Boy received the American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Picture Book in 2018.

The books include information about SHI and Baby Raven Reads, as well as notes about story sources. The Raven books include a foreword “Raven the Trickster” by Rosita Kaaháni Worl, Ph. D., President of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

With their rich cultural context, age-appropriate storytelling, quality artwork, and attractive design, the books are a gift not only to Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian children, but to all of us.

A complete list of Sealaska Heritage Institute books is here. All images are used with permission of Sealaska Heritage Institute.