Dom and I love to read together.  Rather, I read while he flips the pages so quickly that I can’t keep up.  Same difference.

We check anywhere from 5 – 15 children’s books out of the library each week.  We also have an extensive children’s collection on our own bookshelves.  There are some books that Dom and I love so much that I want to share them with other parents.  So I figure that I’ll do that once a week or so.  Here is this week’s book corner…

Dreamcatcher by Audrey Osofsky

This book is a favorite of mine because it celebrates Dom’s and my shared Great Lakes heritage.  The book is about Ojibway Indians, and that tribe was once combined with the Potawatomi.  Reading the descriptions of Ojibway life is a tie-in to our own ancestors’ lives.

The book describes a day in the life of an Ojibway infant.  A large part of the day is spent in a cradleboard attached to his mother’s back.  Older children play traditional games while he watches.  His sister makes him a dreamcatcher to keep bad dreams away.  The baby ends his day sleeping beneath that gift as it catches bad dreams before they can reach his sleep.  An excerpt from the story:

 Where shining water meets the shore
 Mother gathers cattail reeds,
 Grandmother weaves the mats,
Her long deer-bone needle gliding in and out.
 
 “What did you see today that was beautiful?”
 she asks big sister weaving her web.
 “What did you hear that was pleasing?”

The illustrations in the book are gorgeous pastel-type designs, full of natural beauty.  Traditional Great Lakes decoration covers the baby’s cradleboard, and the edges of each page are bordered with flower designs.  The artwork alone makes this book worth far more than the selling price.  But when you add in the multicultural value, it is a must-have for any children’s library.