The Dancing Trees

by Masiana Kelly, Michelle Simpson (Illustrator)

Overview

Thomas loves to tell stories. Big stories. Stories about how skilled he is on the land. But when one of his friends grows tired of his tall tales, Thomas has to prove how skilled he really is.

Taking the challenge to spend a night alone in the forest, Thomas heads into the wilderness. The trees, who have heard his stories, watch him tear off their bark and litter as he goes. And so, while Thomas sleeps, they dance a dance that will leave Thomas with a very different kind of story to tell—if he can find his way home…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772273694
Publisher:	Inhabit Media
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Edition description:	English Edition
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	930L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Masiana Kelly is Inuit and Dene from Kugluktuk, Nunavut, and Fort Simpson, NWT. Masiana is her Inuinnaqtun name. She was named after an Elder from Kugluktuk, where she currently lives with her husband and two sons. Masiana has been an educator for over 10 years and has always loved literacy and the art of storytelling, which she studied at the University of Alberta. She has always wanted to write children's stories to share the legends, traditions, and culture that she grew up with.

Michelle Simpson is a professional illustrator & designer based out of the Niagara Region. Michelle graduated with a BAA in Illustration from Sheridan College and now works as a full-time freelance illustrator. She has worked as a concept artist at KeyFrame Animation for kids cartoons such as Ollie: The Boy Who Became What He Ate (season 2) and Tee and Mo (season 1).

Editorial Reviews

Educators looking for a contemporary story that focuses on honouring the land may find The Dancing Trees to be a useful resource. A boastful adolescent boy agrees to a challenge by his friends: to spend a night in the bush—alone. His Elders have tried to instill a respect for nature, but he litters, breaks branches, and pulls bark off trees. The trees decide to teach him a lesson. Wet, hungry, scared, and lost, Thomas remembers his grandma’s words, cleans up his mess, and finds his way home. The colourful illustrations and present-day characters will engage young readers, while the author’s message will be easily identified. This story is suitable as a read-aloud, read-to-self, and as a springboard to learning about connecting to and respecting nature.

Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools

"[T]he fable accomplishes its educative goal while entertaining readers with memorable characters and suspense. Uniquely successful."—Kirkus Reviews

"[S]uspensefully well-paced, and Thomas’s journey offers much food for thought."—Canadian Children's Booknews

From the Publisher

2021-08-11
In this cautionary tale, the trees teach an Indigenous kid a lesson about respecting nature.

Thomas doesn’t listen to his sister when she tells him to pick up his garbage. She reminds him of Grandma’s teachings, but Thomas is too busy telling his friends stories, wherein he plays a starring role as a skilled hunter and provider for his large family. His friends are tired of hearing his tales, and they challenge him to prove his skill by spending a night alone in the woods. Foolishly, Thomas accepts the challenge. He marks trees with string as he walks into the forest with just a backpack and sleeping bag, but he also strips the bark off of trees in boredom and leaves wrappers from his food on the ground. He manages to build a decent lean-to and falls asleep. But the trees, having seen his disrespectful conduct, uproot themselves and dance to new places, changing his markings so he can’t find his way. Thomas wakes up in the rain and gets lost. Having run out of food, Thomas is grateful to forage some cranberries and thanks the forest for the provisions. Seeing his mess, he cleans up before sleeping with fitful dreams of how disappointed his grandmother would be. The trees, satisfied with his changes, dance again to allow him to find his way home. While Simpson’s cartoon illustrations don’t quite match the traditional tone of Inuk/Dene author Kelly’s story, the fable accomplishes its educative goal while entertaining readers with memorable characters and suspense. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Uniquely successful. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews