Still This Love Goes On

Starred review from August 1, 2022
A love letter to family, home, and Indigenous traditions. Cree singer/songwriter Sainte-Marie offers a glimpse of her people, their land, and their traditions in this picture book based on the lyrics to one of her songs. Through the eyes of a young child, the book brings to life the cold winter days, the awe of looking up at the nighttime sky, the freedom of running through fields of fragrant summer flowers, the delight of children who dance and sing, and the changing of the seasons. Most of all, with the refrain "Still this love goes on," the story reminds readers of the joy we experience upon returning to those whom we love and who love us. The soothing cadence of the words, along with heartwarming illustrations by Flett, conjures up images, smells, sounds, and touch as silhouetted buffalo race across the plains and a child with eyes closed smells the burning of sweetgrass. Both the words and the bold artwork, rendered in pencil and pastel and composed digitally, evoke emotional memories of friends and family and of the place we call home. Flat colors contrast with intricate textures, making for an immersive experience. Readers will want to celebrate their own family stories with their children and share knowledge to be passed on. (This book was reviewed digitally.) This story will remain in readers' hearts long after this book is shelved. (sheet music, author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)

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September 1, 2022
Grades 1-3 Lovely, evocative illustrations and singer-songwriter Sainte-Marie's lyrics (from a song of the same name) together eloquently express what love means for people, places, and cultural heritage. Here the imagistic, poetic text offers a series of thoughts and recollections, spanning seasons from winter ("Ice was hard with little tracks appearing on the snow") through summer and across time ("In my heart I can hear the drum . . . singers soaring / and see the jingle dancers"). Though some elements may resonate more with older readers, such as "fell in love in a powwow town and you know how that is," Flett's beautiful, textural mixed-media collages will have wide appeal. Enriching and extending the prose, the artwork incorporates figures of adults, children, and animals in sweeping landscapes, conveying a harmonious connection between human and natural worlds. The warmhearted refrain--""still this love goes on"--is a lovely link through the vignettes. Sainte-Marie (Cree) and Flett (Cree-M�tis) provide a heartfelt ode to finding meaning in traditions and the ways love and memories can endure. Includes sheet music and an author's note.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 10, 2022
“Sat beside a beaver dam and watched the winter grow/ Ice was hard with little tracks appearing on the snow.” Taking as narrative lines the lyrics of the titular song by Cree activist and musician Buffy Sainte-Marie (Tâpwê and the Magic Hat), this ode to Indigenous culture and the deeply rooted experience of reservation life speaks to the experience of holding a place dear throughout life’s seasons. Pastel, pencil, and digitally finished images by Cree-Métis artist Flett (We All Play) employ organic blocks of earth tones, depicting human figures as diminutive against changing natural landscapes: a child runs across a field of flowers, and a page-turn later, surveys a snow-covered expanse on snowshoes. Soon, word and image turn to another constant—“In every dream I can smell the sweetgrass burning/ And in my heart always hear the drum” attends visuals of jingle dancers and sweetgrass smoke—hinting at a love for and connection to home that “goes on and on.” Back matter includes sheet music and an author’s note that encourages readers to “think about the people and places you love most in your own life.” Ages 3–7.

Starred review from November 1, 2022
Sainte-Marie's (Cree First Nation) 2008 song about wintertime on the Cree reserve in Alberta has here been reinterpreted as a picture book. Flett's (Cree-Metis) signature style -- with its nature-evoking colors; simple, sweeping lines; and expansive compositions in gorgeous art rendered in pastel and pencil -- suggests movement into limitless space and time ("still this love goes on and on"). The strength of both text and art lies in their concrete imagery and cultural specificity: snowshoes, parkas, sweetgrass, drums, jingle dancers, fancy dancers, "beaded girls and painted ponies." Seeing the song lyrics in this format draws the reader's attention to felicitous phrasing and reveals the power of metaphors such as "Now the fields are muffled in white and snow is on the dawn /Morning comes on shivering wings." The book includes notated music -- handy for teachers and librarians to use during storytime. Lara K. Aase

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
Sainte-Marie's (Cree First Nation) 2008 song about wintertime on the Cree reserve in Alberta has here been reinterpreted as a picture book. Flett's (Cree-Metis) signature style -- with its nature-evoking colors; simple, sweeping lines; and expansive compositions in gorgeous art rendered in pastel and pencil -- suggests movement into limitless space and time ("still this love goes on and on"). The strength of both text and art lies in their concrete imagery and cultural specificity: snowshoes, parkas, sweetgrass, drums, jingle dancers, fancy dancers, "beaded girls and painted ponies." Seeing the song lyrics in this format draws the reader's attention to felicitous phrasing and reveals the power of metaphors such as "Now the fields are muffled in white and snow is on the dawn / Morning comes on shivering wings." The book includes notated music -- handy for teachers and librarians to use during storytime.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)