The First Blade of Sweetgrass

Gabriel Frey, Suzanne Greenlaw

ISBN 10: 0884487601 / ISBN 13: 9780884487609

Published by Tilbury House,U.S., US, 2021

About this Item

Musquon must overcome her impatience while learning to distinguish sweetgrass from other salt marsh grasses, but slowly the spirit and peace of her surroundings speak to her, and she gathers sweetgrass as herancestors have done for centuries, leaving the first blade she sees to grow for future generations. This sweet, authentic story from a Maliseet mother and her Passamaquoddy husband includes backmatter about traditional basket making and a Wabanaki glossary.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780884487609

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The First Blade of Sweetgrass
• Publisher: Tilbury House,U.S., US
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0884487601
• ISBN 13: 9780884487609
• Binding: Hardback
• Illustrator: Baker, Nancy
• Condition: New
• Weight: 464 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Selected for the Notable Social Studies 2022 List

Named to ALA Notable Children's Books 2022

In this Own Voices Native American picture book story, a modern Wabanaki girl is excited to accompany her grandmother for the first time to harvest sweetgrass for basket making.

Musquon must overcome her impatience while learning to distinguish sweetgrass from other salt marsh grasses, but slowly the spirit and peace of her surroundings speak to her, and she gathers sweetgrass as her ancestors have done for centuries, leaving the first blade she sees to grow for future generations. This sweet, authentic story from a Maliseet mother and her Passamaquoddy husband includes backmatter about traditional basket making and a Wabanaki glossary. color throughout

About the Authors

Suzanne Greenlaw (Orono, ME), a postdoctoral scientist and citizen of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, is an ecologist, writer, and a traditional harvester focused on supporting Wabanaki land access and re-energizing cultural practices throughout Waponahkik.

Gabriel Frey (Orono, ME) is Passamaquoddy and a citizen of Passamaquoddy at Sipayik. He is an awarded-winning basket maker, artist, and cultural knowledge keeper. His mother and Suzanne and Gabriel’s two daughters, Musqon and Alamossit, helped inspire The First Blade of Sweetgrass.

Nancy Baker (Thomaston, ME) is a Maine artist, illustrator, and muralist whose landscapes, still lifes, and figurative works in oils and pastels are represented by Mars Hall Gallery in Tenants Harbor, Maine. While visiting the sweetgrass meadows of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park with Suzanne and Gabriel, authors of The First Blade of Sweetgrass, Nancy learned the ecology and cultural importance of sweetgrass and witnessed the majesty of the landscape in which it grows, qualities that she has worked to convey in her illustrations.