Lauren and James find themselves among the Memekwesewak(or little people) and dancing for days, until their moshom (grandfather) calls them back with a song.

This felt like an adventure from start to finish! I loved the illustrations and Lauren’s journey to and through the portal. The use of colour and swirls were so cool!

This book could also be used to talk with kids about water safety - the life jackets pictured on shore, and going out without an adult can be teachable moments!

This stunning book is about a brother and sister who travel through a portal and visit the Memekwesewak (Little People). They dance and sing with them and almost forget to go back until they hear another song calling them home (from their Moshom (grandfather)). This book is gorgeously illustrated and the text kept me turning the pages. It was lovely to read about the Memekwesewak in a story perfect for children!

“The Song That Called Them Home” is a beautifully illustrated tale of a brother and sister who are lured from their Moshom (grandfather) by the Memekwesewak’s song. Lauren and James dance happily with the “Little People” for days. Finally, the grandfather calls them back with his own song and the story ends with a happy reunion dance.

This book would make a wonderful read aloud for any age. The illustrations are expressive and Maya McKibbin’s use light and dark spaces make the book even more intriguing. The book is also an excellent opportunity for discussion of indigenous cultures as well as any other issues and questions that may arise during the reading. The author’s note at the end of the book will help to inform an adult reader prior to a read aloud and assist with discussions.

A bit of rhyme is sprinkled into the text intermittently. Though I would have liked more, the rhyme fits well into this charming text. As a teacher, I think this book would be interesting as a mentor text both to spot the rhyme and to use it as a writing technique, adding to the discussion of the book and Robertson’s writing craft.

This is another excellent book from David A. Robertson, based on stories that he heard from his grandfather, and from his people. This picture book is so stunning.
The story tells how two children go fishing with their grandfather (Moshom) on the land (mean tribal land), but he falls asleep and the kids want to go out on the lake. That is where the Memekwesewak take Lauren’s brother, and she must go after him. The Memekwesewak are like the Little People that are more familiar with Western audiences. They are mischievous, and are the spirits of nature, and just want to have fun.

And one of the things they like to do is take children. And like the fairies of the Western culture, they can trap you in their realm.

But their grandfather awakens, and realizes what has happened, and sings out to them, banging his drum, calling them home (as the book title says).

In the author notes, the author talks about when his father was a boy and he saw some Memekwesewak.

Wonderful way to tell about these legendary beings. And the illustrations are stunning. And I like how the children are called home by the beat of the drum, that they dance back to shore with, like a heartbeat.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

This story was sweet, and the illustrations were absolutely beautiful. I loved that it was about two siblings. The story kept my two daughters interested for the most part, but we just didn’t love it. I feel like it would have been a little better with more detail. The storyline almost seemed to jump without explaining enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced reading copy of this book!

This was a cute story. It is based off a story that the indigenous people on Turtle Island tell about memekwesewak (little people.) Two children go on a trip to the land with their moshom (grandfather.) They decide to take the canoe out to fish for dinner. Soon their canoe trips, and the children are taken on an adventure with the memekwesewak. They sing a special song and dance, and the song brings them home to their grandfather. The illustrations were gorgeous, and matched the story well. I really enjoyed this one!

Robertson has crafted a tale using Indigenous myth and folklore that is sure to create a ton of excitement for young readers.

What a sweet, but exciting story. I loved the illustrations by Maya McKibbin, and the detail that went into the Memekwesewak, Having the Lauren and James' Moshom be the one to call them back using the drum was a lovely touch. A gorgeous addition to Robertson's catalogue of work.

This picture book is filled with beautiful illustrations. The story follows a brother and sister who are pulled away from their canoe by the Memekwesewak. There isn’t a lot of background information for those who are unfamiliar with the legend, but there is an authors note to give a starting point to direct research.

Lauren and James leave Moshom (grandfather) on the shore when he falls asleep on a fishing trip. Alone and untrained, they are attacked by the Memekewsewak, humanoid water-dwelling creatures, which grab James and drag him to their world. Lauren follows to rescue James, but they can't come home...not without help.

The artwork is just GORGEOUS. No plain whitespace anywhere, each page has full backgrounds and a lot of texture. Even plain sky is filled with stars and gradients of light, and the water reflects what's above and scarily hints at what's below. The Memekwesewak are ethereal, glowing, and definitely uncanny. The detail of the artwork on their skin is reminiscent of vines, or perhaps even veins, and gives them a sort of hollowness. Brr!

This is perhaps not a bedtime story, since it's a little scary. But it's so well-done that it is well worth sitting down on a sunny day, when the Memekewsewak are far away, to enjoy a little fright with your kid. "Horror" picture books are so rare, but I love them so much!

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

Personal rating:
4🌟


This is a really short graphic novel. It's suitable for a very light and breezy read, especially for kids since the graphics are so so pretty to look at. The story includes a Native American legend so I got to learn a little new something about the culture of the Natives while also enjoying the beautiful drawings. I don't really have much else to say about it since it's ultimately a short and simple book. I did enjoy my experience reading it, though :>


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren, her little brother, and their grandfather go fishing. The children decide to fish by themselves in a canoe (while grandfather sleeps), but are tipped out by humanoid "little people" who take young Sam to live with them.

Distressed, Lauren follows, intent to rescue her brother. But she, too, is enthralled by the little people's eerie song.

From very far away, the children hear a beat; a song they recognize, and it calls them home.

This is not a bedtime story. It's more of a haunting variation based on many of Canada's Turtle Island indigenous people's folk tales about creatures called Memekwesewak.

As with many culture's stories about little people, some are cheerful or mischievous, and some are a little scary.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Parental guidance suggested.

For children not raised with tales like this, I do not recommend this book under age 10-12, or older (the publisher says 4-8 years, preschool to grade 3). The subject should be openly discussed with the child, and they should be reassured that wearing a *life jacket* will protect them, and they will not be taken away by mythical creatures. Adults often assume this is understood, but subconsciously, fears can remain hidden to surface later. (Parental guidance suggested.)

3/5
See my notes about grade level and clarification needed.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books, and NetGalley for the pre-edited proof of this ebook; the review is voluntary.

#PenguinRandomHouseCanada
#TundraBooks
#DavidARobertson #DavidARobertsonAuth
#MayaMcKibbin #MayaMcKibbinIllus
#TurtleIslandCanadIndiginousFolkTales
#ChildrensFictionMemekwesewakLittlePeople
#ChildrensFictionKidnappedbyLittlePeople
#ChildrensFictionCanadaIndiginousFolkTales

This was an interesting and visually beautiful book. I loved the way the Memekwesewak were depicted. A great book for introducing young folks to a story outside of their cultural upbringing.

This conveys a tale very familiar to many people who know stories of the little folk, but this is presented in such a specific way that leaves you in no doubt it's about just one ethnicity. Two kids steal away from their sleeping grandfather in a canoe, only for the lake-dwellers to tip them out and snatch one. The second has to follow, through the portal from this world to the other – but when they get there, can they even remember the rescue mission at hand?

Visually, this is sheer quality – lovely double-paged full-size images convey the drama and the emotion of every scene, or act as montages as the characters pick their way to the other side. The text is nice and brief, but in giving an indigenous word for grandfather right at the start, and in having such an unfortunately long name for the little folk, does peg this strictly as I say to the relevant community. So at the same time you have a story that could have been set in Ireland or any number of other places, featuring any child-familiar legend of people snatched away by happy, dancing fairy types, but this is definitely not any of those. It is from Turtle Bay, Canada, and that's where it'll always come from.

And I'm split about that – I'm happy there are these legends still there, and still being told and brought to the wider audience, but I don't know if this way of presenting it, even with such a small usage of the local argot, is the best. If it was a unique, endemic story I think it would have been fine, but as it's a tale told the world over this felt like it shut me out a little, leaving this for the specific communities and them alone. I hope I'm wrong, but...

Three and a half stars.

A wonderful children's book about two siblings who run into the Memekwesewak while out on the water and how they manage to escape back home.

I had never heard about the Memekwesewak before and it was fun and informative to read about an Indigenous story and I think it's important to have children's books about different cultural stories for all children to read about.

The illustrations were gorgeous and I kept flipping back through just to look at them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

I was given this book as an eARC from the publisher for an honest review.

This book has the perfect pairing of words and pictures. As I was reading, it felt like I was being told a bedtime story. It was comforting and new. I have not read or heard many Native American tales. This was a wonderful story that I would read to my students.

Reading this story presents an interesting opportunity for discussion, both in terms of how the imagery presents those who star in it as well as for the beliefs that tie into the practice of sharing such stories. I hope that this book finds its way into the hands of those readers who will cherish it just as much as I have at present.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada & David A. Robertson for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This was a super cute picture book about a girl and her brother who accidentally end up going too far out in the waters and meet the memekwesewak—creatures from native american culture. the art style was pretty and cute!

#NetGally
#TheSongThatCalledThemHome

Beautiful cover art. I enjoyed the story and love that it is indigenous and American Indian. My only issue with the story is with the illustrations. The writer talks about a sister and her little brother, however the illustrator illustrated two children, the older appears very masculine in appearance where the younger could be male with longer hair or female. It’s confusing as the reader to differentiate. Especially for younger kids. Just a thought. I had to go back a few times and look and re read to try and figure out who was who because the pictures were not matching up with what was being described in the story. Story is a 5, illustrations are a 3.5 due to this.

Lauren & James’ Moshom (grandfather) has taken them out to the lake on a warm, sunny, summer day. The children are excited to be near the beauty of the water but, soon after arriving Moshom falls asleep for the journey was long & tiring. In the hopes of catching some fish so that they all might eat, Lauren takes the canoe & encourages James to help her catch their supper. To their great misfortune, they encounter Memekwesewak (little people) who lead James past green, blue, & yellow; through a portal hidden by water. They dance around the fire until Lauren finds them there & becomes disillusioned from her quest to save her brother.

The illustrations within this book could stand alone in presenting the breathtaking story of Lauren & James & the drum Moshom plays to guide them home. The reason I requested access to this book was, initially, because of the beautiful illustrations & there are not enough words in the English language for me to express how tenderly they led me through this story. Certainly, Lauren & James were brought to life so accurately as to make this tale feel like it was my own; that these were familiar faces to me & that I had grown fond of them within an instant.

As this story presents, the Turtle Island belief held by many Nish folks, the Memekwesewak reside in the water & share this land with us. It is unsurprising that they might have a tender spot for the young, for whom in this life is more innocent & pure to existence than those sweetly neoteric. If you are unfamiliar with this story, with those who take part it in; the note left by the author at the end of this book will shed warm light on what is being shared within the pages.

Reading this story presents an interesting opportunity for discussion, both in terms of how the imagery presents those who star in it as well as for the beliefs that tie into the practice of sharing such stories. I know that my childhood self would have devoured this book as often I would have been allowed to sit in my special spot to read it; taking care to absorb every brush stroke & every word as I gained traction in the literary world. I hope that this book finds its way into the hands of those readers who will cherish it just as much as I have at present.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada & David A. Robertson for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

this was a super cute picture book about a girl and her brother who accidentally end up going too far out in the waters and meet the memekwesewak—creatures from native american culture. the art style was pretty and cute! i also learned about something id never heard of before (both from the note at the end and searching on the internet), which is always a good experience!

As a teacher, I am always seeking stories my students can see themselves in. This beautiful story also contains beautiful representation for all our children who are from the Indiginous Peoples of North America.

I love that the story shows a blend of modern children still honoring some of the older ways and finding themselves with the enchanting beings from the stories the elders tell. I also love the sense of family the children have with their grandfather and how he shows character strengths of patience, fortitude, and resilience as he sings his grandchildren home.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for allowing me to read this ARC.