What's in a Bead?

February 19, 2024
In order to learn beading from her beloved grandmother, Kohkam, a Cree child must learn the “many stories in a bead... the stories they tell us.” Before asking to be taught to bead, young Tessa is instructed to make a gift for Kohkam: “You should always offer tobacco before asking for something from our Elders.” The child crafts a red fabric square, fills it with tobacco, then ties it into a pouch. Kohkom, who “always smells like campfire stories” from hand-sewing colorful beads to smoked hides, accepts the gift, then begins lessons by offering stories about a time when “the ceremonies and gatherings where we would wear our traditional regalia were banned” and discussing the way that “beads can show people who we are.” Nbisiing Nishnaabe author Borgford approaches the history with sensitivity while interspersing Cree vocabulary into scenes of a close-knit family passing on knowledge. Cree illustrator Pizzale, meanwhile, captures the straightforward text in boldly colored illustrations filled with details of a long-held tradition. Simultaneously publishing in a bilingual edition. Ages 4–8.