The Grizzly Mother (Mothers of Xsan Series #2)

by Hetxw'ms Gyetxw Brett D. Huson, Natasha Donovan (Illustrator)

Overview

Book two in the award-winning Mothers of Xsan series, The Grizzly Mother uses striking illustration and lyrical language to bring the poetry of the Xsan ecosystem to life.

To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the grizzly is an integral part of the natural landscape. Together, they share the land and forests that the Skeena River runs through, as well as the sockeye salmon within it. Follow mother bear as she teaches her cubs what they need to survive on their own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553797760
Publisher:	Portage & Main Press
Publication date:	09/01/2019
Series:	Mothers of Xsan Series , #2
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	270,570
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	980L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, also known as Brett D. Huson (he/him/his), is from the Gitxsan Nation of the Northwest Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Growing up in this strong matrilineal society, Brett developed a passion for the culture, land, and politics of his people, and a desire to share their knowledge and stories. Brett has worked in the film and television industry for over 13 years and is a volunteer board member for organizations such as Ka Ni Kanichihk and sākihiwē festival. Brett also works with the Prairie Climate Centre to connect western science and Indigenous Knowledges.

The award-winning Mothers of Xsan series is Brett’s first series of books and part of a larger vision to share the worlds of the Gitxsan Nation. With the support of his wife, Jeri, and their children, Warren and Ruby, Brett endeavours to continue sharing stories with his writing, artwork, and photography.

Natasha Donovan (she/her/hers) is a Métis illustrator originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her sequential work has been published in This Place: 150 Years Retold, Wonderful Women of History, and Thomas King's graphic novel Borders. She is the illustrator of the award-winning Surviving the City graphic novel series and Mothers of Xsan children's book series, as well as Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer. She currently lives by the Nooksack River in Washington State. @natashamdonovan

What People are Saying About This

David A. Robertson

With beautiful, clear words to match vivid illustrations, The Grizzly Mother functions both as a sequel to The Sockeye Mother, and as its own powerful story of love, traditional knowledge, and culture. 

USBBY Outstanding 2020 International Books LIst

Among USBBY's Outstanding 2020 International Books List

AIYL

An AIYL Middle Grade Honor Book

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)

Selected for the 2020 Outstanding International Books List

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/23/2019

“Nox Lik’i’nxw, the Grizzly Mother, awakens from torpor. Her firstborn cubs gnaw and scratch at her, impatient to explore outside of their den.” Anchored in the culture of the Gitxsan Nation, this spellbinding account of a grizzly bear’s first few years with her cubs is the second title in the Mothers of Xsan series. The text centers observations and explanations of the bears’ behaviors, adroitly using Gitxsan words in a way that makes their meaning apparent: “Nox Lik’i’nxw and her cubs feel an air of change as Lasa gwineekxw, the Getting-Used-to-Cold-Moon arrives.” Sophisticated scientific concepts are seamlessly incorporated, then explained in crisp footnotes: “Torpor is a state of lowered bodily activity in response to cold.” Saturated with ocher hues and expressively detailed with black line, Donovan’s illustrations amplify the text’s lyricism with nuanced perspectives and subtle formline art motifs. A closing page provides information on the Gitxsan Nation. Ages 9–12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Selected as Middle Honor Book for the American Indian Youth Literature Award

American Indian Library Association

Selected for the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2019 reading list, Informational Books for Older Readers

Chicago Public Library

A lyrically poetic text, it delivers a wealth of information on the lives of grizzlies and the ecosystem they are part of, making this an invaluable introduction to the way we are all connected.

The Globe and Mail - Jeffrey Canton

Teachers! Get The Grizzly Mother for your classroom—and ask your librarian to get it on the library shelves, too! I highly recommend The Sockeye Mother and The Grizzly Mother published by HighWater Press. They are pitched at children in grades 5-7 but I think they can be used with younger children. And of course, picture books should be used with people of any age. Highly recommended!

Debbie Reesen Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

Selected for the 2020 Outstanding International Books List

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)

Teachers! Get The Grizzly Mother for your classroom—and ask your librarian to get it on the library shelves, too! I highly recommend The Sockeye Mother and The Grizzly Mother published by HighWater Press. They are pitched at children in grades 5-7 but I think they can be used with younger children. And of course, picture books should be used with people of any age. Highly recommended!

American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) - Debbie Reese

Winner of the Manuela Dias Design and Illustration Awards, Children's Illustration

Manitoba Book Awards

Winner of the Animal Behavior Society's Outstanding Children's Book Award

Animal Behavior Society

"...it's one of the best books we've seen all year..."

The Tiny Activist

4 out of 5 stars

The Gitxsan people are First Nations people who live beside a river whose name translates to The River of Mist. The Gitxsan people are also aware of how important both the Salmon and the Grizzly are to the region, and ecosystem. 

This is the second in what I hope will be a series of books that highlights each animal the plays a part in keeping the area healthy, within the web of life. The first was about the Sockeye Salmon. This second follows the life of the Grizzly. With beautiful illsutrations, we follow what happens month by month to a mother grizzly and her cubs. 

It is an excellent way to learn about the web of life, and to learn about the lifecycle of the grizzly.

My only qualm, and I could be remembering the first book differently, is there is not as much Gitxsan language in this second book as was in the first.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

NetGalley - Laura Testa-Reyes

5 out of 5 stars

A gorgeously illustrated book for all ages on the lives of grizzly bears in British Columbia.

From the renderings of the bears to the color palette, the artwork in this book is first rate. 

I love that the author used “ten-dollar words” in the text and then added the definitions instead of oversimplifying the vocabulary in order to make the book workable for the youngest possible audience. This way, it can be enjoyed by both very young and older children.

NetGalley - Samantha Edelman

The Grizzly Mother is seamless merging of science and culture with the Gitxsan Nation.... This book is an important addition to classrooms and libraries or your own non-fiction collection.

Mighty Village

5 out of 5 stars
This non-fiction, own-voices picture book features amazing pictures and interesting details about a grizzly bear's raising of two young bears, and the Gitxsan people that live near the Skeena and Bulkley rivers in Northern British Columbia, Canada. I really love this book and The Sockeye Mother, an earlier book from this team. Great information, including the correct use of the phrase torpor (instead of hibernation, which is something that is incorrect and a little maddening once you know this) and definitions of more complex language right next to the text, where the reader can use it, means this series is a great package for young readers to learn about nature and Indigenous culture. I hope there are more of these books to come!

NetGalley - Aaron Cleaveley

4 out of 5 stars
Lovely book. My son loved me reading it to him. The targeted audience. It was easy to read and well written.
 

NetGalley - Lisa Houston

4 out of 5 stars

I read this book with my 7 year old, who loves learning about our local Aboriginal culture. The book did a wonderful job of sharing the Gitxsan language and culture along with the story of a grizzly and her 2 cubs as they move through the seasons. The illustrations are beautiful, incorporating traditional artwork and peaceful colours. The interesting facts and vocabulary sprinkled throughout add dimension and interest to the book, as does the tracing of the seasons using traditional Gitxsan references to the phases of the moon. Of course I love that it is centered in our province and that my daughter and I were able to look at the map and talk about our local landscape and the many important natural features (rivers, the salmon, the forests). We also discussed some of the different First Nations in our province and talked about their languages and cultures (we live in the heart of syilx or Okanagan territory).

A must-have for elementary classrooms and libraries in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

––NetGalley reviewer

NetGalley - Bryn Coape-Arnold

4 out of 5 starts

What a beautifully illustrated book! This books follows a grizzly mother bear with her two cubs from hibernation to the next season's hibernation. It teaches children about different aspects of the grizzly bear's life in different seasons and their interactions with the Gitxsan community.

I love how it has definitions of words that children might not know (e.g. metabolism).

I think more information about the geographical locality and the Gitxsan would make this book so much more accessible to children more globally. Afterall, who wouldn't want to learn about grizzly bears?

NetGalley - Sara Cox

10/01/2019

Gr 3–7—A mother grizzly bear awakens and spends three years caring for her cubs near the Gitxsan Territories in northwest British Columbia in this informational picture book. Donovan's beautifully colored digital illustrations evoke traditional form line art and woodcuts to help tell the story of the bears and their relation to the Gitxsan people. While some vocabulary words are defined in numbered yellow footnotes on the pages on which they appear, there are many words of similar difficulty that are not defined. There is no pronunciation guide for the Gitxsan words used, and while some are defined in the text, not all are. Gyetxw's text is lyrical and thoughtful and will be engaging to readers who wish to learn more about the grizzly or the Gitxsan people's relationship with nature. The illustrations are captivating and meticulous two-page spreads—they are carefully laid out with keen attention to detail and inspire a close look. VERDICT This is a gorgeous book best suited for avid bear fans or collections needing more books about the Gitxsan Nation. Recommended for larger collections.—Kelsey Socha, Ventress Memorial Library, Marshfield, MA

School Library Journal