We All Play

April 1, 2021
Preschool-Grade 2 This beautifully illustrated book introduces a series of young animals at play, then relates their activities to those of children. Spanning eight pages, the first of four sections in the minimalist text reads, "Animals hide and hop / and sniff and sneak / and peek and peep. / We play too! / kim�taw�naw m�na." Closing each section, the Cree phrase reiterates, "We play too." The second section involves aquatic animals, followed by children swimming, and the third features snakes, bison, and bears in motion, concluding with kids sledding down a snow-covered hill. The final section includes bats roosting, wolf pups yawning, and drowsy children going to sleep. Flett, a Cree-M�tis writer and illustrator who lives in Canada, chooses pairs of words that read aloud well. An appended list pairs English words for 13 animals (plus child and baby) with their Cree equivalents. In the art, the simplified forms of animals and children are often silhouetted against parchment-like backgrounds, while color and shading help define the characters' shapes. A handsome, understated picture book affirming our oneness with nature.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 1, 2021

PreS-Gr 2-This delightful picture book features woodland animals, found in North America, mirroring playtime for children: "Animals hide and hop and sneak and sniff and peep. We play, too! kim�taw�naw m�na." The children are happy, playing and tiring themselves out, then resting by the end of the book. It is a great bedtime story. The words in English are simple and could easily be memorized and then recognized by early readers. The illustrations are warm and inviting; the animal families are depicted in soft, smudged painterly colors. At the end of the book is a glossary of Cree words for the animals in singular, plural, and diminutive forms, along with words for child and baby. The pronunciation for these words can be found on a website. The author's note provides a summary of the book, explaining the kinship between humans and animals in Cree culture and the interconnectedness to "the land, plants, the earth, wind, water and sky." VERDICT Add to any library collection and pair it with Julie Flett's Birdsong.-Danielle Burbank, Farmington, NM

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2021
In Flett's lively and beautifully illustrated story, animals engage in all sorts of playful behaviors, on land and in the water. Each spread depicts one or two species, with two action verbs describing their actions. Bunnies and grasshoppers "hide and hop." Owls "peek and peep." Belugas "swim and squirt." Interspersed spreads depict a group of children who, likewise, run, swim, climb, and sled, declaring, "We play too! kimetawanaw mina." But all that activity can be tiring, and when the animals snuggle up outside and rest together, the children do also. With only four or five words on most of the spreads, the text is spare, lilting, and sensory, emphasizing action. The pictures are similarly simple and playful, with plenty of space warmly surrounding the figures. A bold, dynamic page design and vibrant textures enhance the images, and the children's gorgeous skin tones range from deep copper-brown to beige. The back matter includes a list of animal names in English and in Cree, a pronunciation guide to Cree words, and a thoughtful author's note about human play and the connectedness of people, animals, and nature. Autumn Allen

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2021
In Flett's lively and beautifully illustrated story, animals engage in all sorts of playful behaviors, on land and in the water. Each spread depicts one or two species, with two action verbs describing their actions. Bunnies and grasshoppers "hide and hop." Owls "peek and peep." Belugas "swim and squirt." Interspersed spreads depict a group of children who, likewise, run, swim, climb, and sled, declaring, "We play too! kimetawanaw mina." But all that activity can be tiring, and when the animals snuggle up outside and rest together, the children do also. With only four or five words on most of the spreads, the text is spare, lilting, and sensory, emphasizing action. The pictures are similarly simple and playful, with plenty of space warmly surrounding the figures. A bold, dynamic page design and vibrant textures enhance the images, and the children's gorgeous skin tones range from deep copper-brown to beige. The back matter includes a list of animal names in English and in Cree, a pronunciation guide to Cree words, and a thoughtful author's note about human play and the connectedness of people, animals, and nature. Autumn Allen

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from March 15, 2021
Everyone loves to play! Award-winning author/illustrator Flett shares the joyful antics of young animals as they romp in much the same way as human children. The rhythmic text offers both rich vocabulary and a page-turning chant. Woodland animals "hide and hop / and sniff and sneak" while Indigenous children, depicted in differing shades of brown, run, skip, jump, and hunt for butterflies. "We play too! kim�taw�naw m�na," they proclaim in the refrain. Aquatic animals "swim and squirt / and bubble and bend" while children swim under the water and float on its surface, in inner tubes. On the prairie, snakes "slip and slide" through the grass while buffalo "rumble and roll." And bears "wiggle and wobble" as both they and children play (in separate double-page spreads) in the snow. At last, "side by side, animals fall asleep," and after a day full of fun, "we do too. n�stan�n m�na." The animals are not named within the primary text, leaving it to readers to identify the hopping bunnies, the spouting beluga whale calves, and the yawning wolf pups. Flett's characteristically minimalist compositions are deceptively simple. Readers who slow down to look will be charmed by the cricket that hops in tandem with a rabbit and the fox that stares in bemusement at a turtle. This celebration of nature is sprinkled with words from the Cree language, and a closing glossary provides both Cree and English names of the animals depicted; a note provides guidance on Cree pronunciation for readers not familiar with the language. Simple text and bold, graphic illustrations celebrate our interconnection with the creatures who share our world. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2021
In Flett's lively and beautifully illustrated story, animals engage in all sorts of playful behaviors, on land and in the water. Each spread depicts one or two species, with two action verbs describing their actions. Bunnies and grasshoppers "hide and hop." Owls "peek and peep." Belugas "swim and squirt." Interspersed spreads depict a group of children who, likewise, run, swim, climb, and sled, declaring, "We play too! kimetawanaw mina." But all that activity can be tiring, and when the animals snuggle up outside and rest together, the children do also. With only four or five words on most of the spreads, the text is spare, lilting, and sensory, emphasizing action. The pictures are similarly simple and playful, with plenty of space warmly surrounding the figures. A bold, dynamic page design and vibrant textures enhance the images, and the children's gorgeous skin tones range from deep copper-brown to beige. The back matter includes a list of animal names in English and in Cree, a pronunciation guide to Cree words, and a thoughtful author's note about human play and the connectedness of people, animals, and nature.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)