Beth Cuthand

This is a sweet story about a lonely little mud duck, who wants to be Cree, so he can live with the Cree people and never be lonely again. He dresses up as best as he can, to join the Cree in their dancing, but not only can no one understand him, but they also step on him in the dance.
Disheartened, the little mud duck heads back to his lonely pond, only to hear other mud ducks calling in the distance - using words he can understand.
I like the way that the duck wants to be beautiful only so he can belong, and really it is someone he can talk to that he craves. The ending is a little abrupt, after the lovely descriptions of his preparations for the dance, and his experiences among the Cree.
The Illustrations are bright and cheerful, the Cree people loo lie individuals, with different personalities.
Each page has the words of the story in English, and then in Cree, using the Latin alphabet. The last two pages, with no pictures, have what I'm guessing is the story written in the Cree syllabary? This is a nice addition, and makes the point that First Nations culture is not entirely oral.… (más)