What's in a Bead?-ebook
There are many stories in a bead. We must listen to the stories they tell us.
Praise & Recognition
"Delight beckons from the cover to the last page of What’s in a Bead?. Rich in visual details and told from the perspective of Tessa, a First Nations girl (Cree), What’s in a Bead? documents educational, social, and cultural practices of beading in her family and community. It contains colour-rich, carefully rendered visual images, beaded objects, and ceremonies related to beading.... Recommended."
CM: Canadian Review of MaterialsA delicate tribute to beading and storytelling, connecting the past, present, and future of Native communities.
In this heartwarming intergenerational story, an Indigenous girl learns how to bead from her grandmother. Kohkom greets Tessa and her mom in Cree when they arrive, and Tessa offers her grandmother a tobacco tie before asking if she’ll teach her to bead. Kohkom agrees. Beading tells “stories about who we are,” she explains. “We [keep] beading…to make sure our ways [aren’t] lost forever.” Tessa learns about the importance of beading and how different Indigenous people use the art form to express their identities. Kohkom shows Tessa that beaded Anishinaabe moccasins look different from Cree ones. Borgford (Nbisiing Nishnaabe) uses dialogue to convey a strong bond between grandmother and grandchild. Depicting a contemporary Native family, Pizzale (Cree) incorporates designs and vivid colors. Complementing the gentle text, the illustrations include small touches: a heart shape in a strand of thread, earrings dangling in a jewelry box, the northern lights glistening in the distance, geese flying in the background. The use of detail helps readers connect with Native culture. Readers can decipher potentially unfamiliar words in context, though a glossary might have been helpful.
KirkusSecond Story Press Indigenous Writing Contest 2021 - Runner-up
Details
Publication Date: March 12, 2024
Reading Age: 6 - 8
Genre: Picture Book
Product Format: E-book – EPUB
Pages: 24
ISBN: 978-1-77260-374-3
About the Author
Kelsey Borgford
Kelsey Borgford is Nbisiing Nishnaabe, and resides in her traditional territory of Nipissing First Nation. She is from the marten clan, and Couchie family. Kelsey is constantly seeking to become educated, and educate about the culture. In all she does, her own Nokomis-baa is central to her story.
About the Illustrator
Tessa Pizzale
Tessa Pizzale grew up in North Bay, Ontario. Her Cree relatives are from Moose Factory, Fort Albany, and Peawanuck. She is completing her BFA at Nipissing University. Tessa loves Indigenous crafts and is grateful to her late Kookum for teaching her beading and her Nikawiy for teaching her to sew.
More from the author