Swift Fox All Along
by Rebecca Lea Thomas
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Pub Date Sep 08 2020 | Archive Date Jun 02 2021
Annick Press Ltd. | Annick Press
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Description
What does it mean to be Mi’kmaq? And if Swift Fox can’t find the answer, will she ever feel like part of her family?
When Swift Fox’s father picks her up to go visit her aunties, uncles, and cousins, her belly is already full of butterflies. And when he tells her that today is the day that she’ll learn how to be Mi’kmaq, the butterflies grow even bigger. Though her father reassures her that Mi’kmaq is who she is from her eyes to her toes, Swift Fox doesn’t understand what that means. Her family welcomes her with smiles and hugs, but when it’s time to smudge and everyone else knows how, Swift Fox feels even more like she doesn’t belong.
Then she meets her cousin Sully and realizes that she’s not the only one who’s unsure—and she may even be the one to teach him something about what being Mi’kmaq means. Based on the author’s own experience, with striking illustrations by Maya McKibbin, A Long Way to a New Place is a poignant story about identity and belonging that is at once personal and universally resonant.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781773214481 |
| PRICE | $18.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 36 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 186721
This is a very touching story. I am unsure, everyone has some part of them that they hide to fit in the globalized world. Like Swift Fox in this story, we just need a nudge to maintain connection with our ancestry and collective heritage.
The illustrations are done with great details and life. It had almost cartoon like animated life in the smiles of the characters. I cannot imagine pulling off a face with a wide smile.
Erin C, Reviewer
"Swift Fox All Along" is a children's book by Rebecca Lea Thomas. The story highlights the life of a young Native American girl who is living with her mother off reservation. When she becomes old enough, her father picks her up and takes her to introduce her to his side of the family and their culture. Swift Fox is scared at first and nervous to meet her new family. Will they like her? Will she like them?
This book was a great way to highlight what it means to be an outsider and learning about a new culture. The beginning of the story jumped right in but I would have liked a little more of an introduction. I really enjoyed learning about a different culture through the story though and my kids liked it as well. The illustrations weren't my favorite, but the book's sentiment was meaningful and well written.
Laura T, Reviewer
What do you do when you were not raised on the reserve, when you have no connecction with the people of your people. You don't know how to be Mi’kmaq because you have not learned any of their waves.
That is the problem with Swift Fox. She was not raised amongst her people, just the way her father wasn't, but his excuse was he was sent off to residency school.
Swift fox is scared that she won't know what to do, and yet, there are familiar smells, such as fry bread, which she loves. Perhaps the people she is being introduced to are not so strange, after all.
It is hard when you feel like an outsider in the very group that you want to be part of. This is an excellent children's book showing what that is like, and how you can feel both at home, and alien amongst all your relatives and people.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
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