Tsimshian (Ts'msyen)

The tiny but mighty Mousewoman is a legendary figure in the oral and visual practices of Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures. She is both grandmother and oracle, able to travel in and out of the spirit world. Mousewoman sits on young people’s shoulders in crucial times, whispering advice and knowledge. She protects and guides young people by helping them avoid or escape bad situations, and is never afraid to stand up to bigger beings. This book brings to life the timeless lessons of Mousewoman—lessons that embody the principles outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A first of its kind, this book empowers children to become proudly aware of their rights.

Educator Information
It is never too early to empower children to learn their rights. Let the timeless lessons of Mousewoman guide children to learn their rights in this first-of-its-kind board book.

Human rights, Indigenous rights, rights of a child

Additional Information
Soy based ink and water based protective coating. Made from paper sourced from sustainable forests. 22 pages; measures 6.5 in x 6.5 in

La collection Corbeau est un ensemble de six livres écrits pour le lecteur émergent avec le soutien d’un adulte. Chaque livre vise le développement d’une intention d'apprentissage spécifique. 

Educator Information / Information pour éducateurs
Les titres de la collection Corbeau et leurs intentions d'apprentissage sont:  

• Corbeau et la boîte : le récit oral 

• Corbeau et Canard : les contraires 

• Corbeau et Grenouille comptent : l'identification des numéros 

• Je vois Corbeau : la perspective et les rimes 

• Corbeau chante la chanson de l'alphabet : l'identification des lettres, le développement du vocabulaire 
• Corbeau fait un collier : les couleurs et les patrons  

Cette ressource est aussi disponible en anglais ICI.

Additional Information / Information additionnelle
ISBN: 9781771745758

Born in British Columbia, Tsimshian artist and mother Morgan Asoyuf makes her publishing debut with Black and White: Visual Stimulation for Babies.

Using familial crests as her artistic inspiration, this book of high-contrast images is designed to stimulate brain growth and visual development in young babies.

Author Statement
The crest system of the Pacific Northwest is what gave rise to the Northwest Coast art form. Crests depict the deeper story of our Peoples' familial ranks and migratory paths.

Beyond my personal interest in historical art and the processes that create it, I also care deeply about the forwarding of traditional Tsm'syen art and culture.

When my baby was one month old I wanted her to be able to look at black and white images from her Tsimhsian culture. As babies develop sight, they can best see high contrast images and patterns. Exposing them to black and white artwork stimulates brain growth and visual devleopment.

I spent two months developing my drawings and testing them on her. Interestingly, she had clear favourites and would be more excited for certain images.

Northwest art has a healing and mesmerizing effect for all ages and I believe viewing it from a young age will create a varied cognitive development.

What a wonderful way to introduce children to a lifetime of reading!

-- Morgan Asoyuf, Tsimshian

Additional Information
20 pages | 6.5" x 6.5"

Authenticity Note: Because this book is wordless, only the Authentic Indigenous Artwork label has been applied and no Text Content Territory has been assigned.  The story is told through images, though, which depict Tsimshian culture.

Follow Raven as he introduces each letter of the alphabet! Have fun naming each of the images for each letter.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Raven Series, a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

A Little Note about the Alphabet:
Learning the alphabet is a foundational skill and learning through song is a wonderful way to learn! In hopes to eliminate confusion of learning to identify letters, we have typeset the letters in a specific manner. For example, L M N O P is not one letter and for young learners can be mistaken as such if not broken up. As you are singing the song slowly together, pointing at each letter will support young learners significantly. Notice that we pluralize alphabet to indicate there are many kinds.

Each letter of the alphabet in the book has a corresponding picture. Taking the time to talk about each picture, over several reads, will support building vocabulary. Some of the pictures are from other Raven books to help learners make connections from book to book.

This book is available in French: Corbeau chante la chanson de l’alphabet 
Note: French version dimensions differ.

Additional Information
16 pages | Dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771741514

Obtenez tous les titres dans la collection Des montagnes à la mer ! 

La collection Des montagnes à la mer suit un écosystème fluvial de sa source dans les montagnes jusqu'à l'estuaire. Sur le chemin de la rivière, on rencontre le cèdre, le saumon qui nourris toute l'écosystème, l'ours, l'aigle et l'orque. Chaque livre est écrit avec une perspective scientifique sur les pages gauches et une perspective d'études sociales sur les pages droites. 

Cet ensemble comprend: 

• Nous habitons ici (recommandé pour les étudiants de maternelle) 

• Nous partageons les saisons (recommandé pour les étudiants de 1ere année) 

• Nous sommes une communauté (recommandé pour les étudiants de 2e année) 

Educator Information / Information pour éducateurs
Cette ressource est aussi disponible en anglais ICI.

Additional Information / Information additionnelle
ISBN: 9781771745772

The children of the Tsimshian village of Kitkatla love to play at being hunters, eager for their turn to join the grown-ups. But when they capture and mistreat a crow, the Chief of the Heavens, angered at their disrespect, brings down a powerful storm.

The rain floods the Earth and villagers have no choice but to abandon their homes and flee to their canoes. As the seas rise, the villagers tie themselves to the top of Anchor Mountain, where they pray for days on end and promise to teach their children to value all life. The storm stops and the waters recede. From that point on, the villagers appoint a chief to perform the Peace Dance at every potlatch and, with it, pass on the story of the flood and the importance of respect.

With eighteen new illustrations from Roy Henry Vickers and exceptional narrative, Peace Dancer will delight readers of all ages and add to the collection of global flood stories.

Reviews
"Parents and teachers will enjoy sharing Peace Dancer with children. Highly recommended." — Dr. Gregory Bryan, CM Magazine, October 2016 

Additional Information
40 pages | 12.00" x 8.25"

The Raven Series is a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

The titles and their learning intentions are:

• Raven and the Box: promotes an oral retell
• Raven and Duck: basic concepts
• Raven and Frog Count: number recognition
• I Spy Raven: rhyme and perspective
• Raven Sings the ABC's: letter recognition, vocabulary building
• Raven Makes a Necklace: colours and patterns

Educator Information
This resource is also available in French HERE!

Additional Information
ISBN: 9781771745888

Watch as six little insects keep an eye on Raven as he settles in to go to sleep. The sky darkens and the stars come out only to reveal something very big at the end.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Raven Series, a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

A Little Note about Rhyming and Perspective:
Learning rhyme is a foundational skill and this book provides opportunity to explore rhythm, rhyme and visual perspective. A learner’s ability to recognize words that rhyme will support them as they begin to learn word families later on. A simple word family is the “at” family: bat, cat, hat, mat etc. When a learner can recognize the rhyming sounds, or words, they can begin to anticipate the text. As well, a learner’s ability to understand visual perspective allows them to understand the storyline deeper. The visual perspective changes under a magnifying glass.

This resource is available in French: Je vois Corbeau
Note: French book dimensions differ.

Additional Information
16 pages | Dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771741545

Raven and Duck are good friends. They like to play together outside in the summer sun but most of what they do is opposite to the other.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Raven Series, a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

A Little Note about Opposites:
Learning opposites is a foundational skill. So many functions of our daily lives are around sorting and categorizing and understanding opposites is a great beginning. As well, knowing what opposites are supports a young learner in both comprehension and vocabulary. Understanding a storyline that describes something big and something small will support comprehension. With the addition of opposite words in a young learner’s vocabulary, they can now add a description to things. As an example, the beginning stages of use may be the big boat and the small boat. As language progresses it may turn to the large boat and the little boat. At an even deeper progression, it may turn to the humongous boat and the tiny boat.

This resource is available in French: Corbeau et Canard
Note: Book dimensions differ in French. 

Additional Information
16 pages | Dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771741569

Join Raven and Frog as they both count to ten in their own way. Raven teaches one to ten in rhyme and with a focus on number recognition. Frog teaches one to ten with visual supports of number representation.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Raven Series, a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

A Little Note about Counting:
Learning to count is a foundational skill and our world is full of numbers. Young learners will learn early on in life that they can have one candy, not ten. In order to support the learning we can teach first what the numbers 1 to 10 look like while counting/naming them. After many practises counting/naming, we can then teach the amount of each number. For example, we can show the learners; I can hold one cracker in my left hand and two crackers in my right hand. Last, we can show number representation in a pattern, like the number patterns on dice. Of course, this is only the beginning of discovering that our world is full of math but this is such a great start for any young learner.

This resource is available in French: Corbeau et Grenouille comptent
Note: French book dimensions differ.

Additional Information
16 pages | Dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771741538

Based on a traditional story, Raven and the Box is a simple storyline. With each action that Raven makes you can play along with your own actions.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Raven Series, a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

A Little Note about Retelling:
Learning to tell and retell stories is a foundational skill. Oral retells promote comprehension and build vocabulary capacity. This story allows actions to be performed as it is being told. Actions can sometimes support the retelling of a storyline. Invite learners and their families to come in and share one of their own traditional family stories.

This resource is available in French: Corbeau et la boîte
Note: French book dimensions differ. 

Additional Information
16 pages | Dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771741521

Follow Raven as he flies around looking for coloured beads to make a necklace. The beads he finds are different shapes and colours.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Raven Series, a set of six books written for the emergent reader and learner. Each book focuses on a specific learning intention that builds on strengthening learning with the support of an adult.

A Little Note about Shapes and Colours:
Sorting by shapes and colours is a foundational skill. Our world is full of shapes and colours! Young learners strive to make sense of their surroundings and look to identify shapes and colours either in real life or through multimedia. Once learned a young learner can then sort and categorize many things by shape or colour.

This resource is available in French: Corbeau fait un collier
Note: French book dimensions differ.

Additional Information
16 pages | Dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771741552

Own all 3 titles in the series From the Mountains to the Sea!

The From the Mountains to the Sea series follows a river eco-system from its source high up in the mountains all the way to the estuary. Along the rivers path we introduce the cedar tree, the salmon which feeds the entire eco-system, the bear, eagle and orca. Each book is written with a science perspective on the lefthand pages and social studies on the righthand pages.

All 3 titles in the From the Mountains to the Sea series include:

Kindergarten: We Live Here
Click link to download a five-week Kindergarten planning guide:Kindergarten FREE Download for We Live Here

Grade 1: We Share the Seasons
Click link to download a five-week Grade 1 planning guide: Grade 1 FREE Download for We Share the Seasons

Grade 2: We Are a Community
Click link to download a Grade 2 five-week planning guide: Grade 2 FREE Download for We Are a Community

Also available, each book has its own bundle of items in our Book Bundles section.

This bundle is also available in French HERE!

Additional Information
Book dimensions: 10" x 14" | ISBN: 9781771745789

Each book in the series, From the Mountains to the Sea, supports the new BC Aboriginal Learning Standards in both Science and Social Studies.

Click link to download a Grade 2 five-week planning guide: Grade 2 FREE Download for We Are a Community

Back of book introduction:
From the Mountains to the Sea: We Are a Community is a Grade 2 resource, which covers all of your Aboriginal Learning Standards in both science and social studies within the new BC curriculum.

This book is about a river. Most rivers start high up in the mountains. As the water comes downhill, it makes little pathways in the rocks and gravel. As the pathways get bigger, they join to make streams. When several streams join, they make a river. Some rivers have waterfalls and deep pools. In some places, fast moving water tumbles over rocks forming rapids. When a river leaves the mountain for flatter ground it starts to slow down. Eventually, a river ends when it flows into the sea. Where the fresh water and the salt water meet is an estuary. Have you ever been to an estuary?

The area in and around an estuary is a good place for plants, animals and people to live because we can all find food and water there. The salmon is an important food for many of us. Have you ever eaten salmon?

People have paid attention to the life cycle of salmon for thousands of years. We have learned that sometimes we can help salmon survive by building a salmon hatchery along a river. Some hatcheries are huge while others are quite small. Have you ever visited a salmon hatchery?

There are many sizes of rivers in the world. Some are wide. Some are narrow. Some are deep. Some are shallow. Do you live near a river? What plants and animals have you seen there?

This book is also part of a bundled package that includes:

• a card game: matching and sequencing
• a CD
• bulletin board trimmers

Click here to view the bundle: From the Mountains to the Sea: We Are a Community Bundle

This resource is available in French: Collection Des montagnes à la mer: Nous sommes une communauté

Additional Information
Book dimensions: 10" x 14" | Pages: 16 | ISBN: 9781771741033

Each book in the series, From the Mountains to the Sea, supports the new BC Aboriginal Learning Standards in both Science and Social Studies.

From the Mountains to the Sea: We Live Here is a Kindergarten resource, which covers all of your Aboriginal Learning Standards in both science and social studies within the new BC curriculum.

Click link to download a five-week Kindergarten planning guide: Kindergarten FREE Download for We Live Here

Back of book introduction:
This book is about a river. Can you find a river on the front cover of this book? What do you know about rivers?

Most rivers start high up in the mountains. As the water comes down the hill, it makes little pathways in the rocks and gravel. As the pathways get bigger, they join to make streams. Sometimes the streams join together to make a river. Where a river leaves the mountains the ground flattens out, and the river slows down. The river ends when it flows into the sea.

The area in and around a river is a good place for plants, animals and people to live because we can all find food and water there. The salmon is an important food for many of us.

Some of the plants and animals that you will find in this book are:

• Cedar trees live and grow all the way along a river, from the mountains to the sea.
• Salmon spend their adult lives out in the open sea. When it is time to lay their eggs, they swim back to their home streams. Their home streams are sometimes very close to the mountains.
• Bears walk long distances to find their food. They live from the mountains to the sea. In the fall they go to the rivers to fish for salmon.
• Eagles fly over large areas looking for food. They live from the mountains to the sea. In the fall, they go to the rivers to feast on salmon.
• Orcas live in the open sea. They swim long distances to hunt for food. Some orcas eat salmon. 

This book is also part of a bundled package: From the Mountains to the Sea: We Live Here Bundle

This resource is available in French: Collection Des montagnes à la mer: Nous habitons ici 

Additional Information
Book dimensions: 10" x 14" | Pages: 16 | ISBN: 9781771741019