This book “Two Tricksters Find Friendship” is written by Jess Willows and Elder Johnny Aitken from Mayne Island and Illustrated by Alyssa Koski of Blackfoot ancestary. It follows the story of two friends Jessie and Johnny and their spiritual guide the Raven who follows along on their journey. The book is broken down into chapters, each chapter exploring different Indigenous practices, ways of thinking or topics that involve reconcilliation. It also shows a very real and lived experience of systemic differences in class between Indigenous and white people living in Canada, Jessie comes from a well off family and never worries about money where as Johnny lives on the reserve with his family and often experiences troubles financially. This book is a great resource for sharing Indigenous stories and practices with student’s in a way that they can resonate with and understand, the chapters style book is great as you can use this as a continuing book throughout the year. Jess and Johnny are currently working on another book that will cater more towards older students in middle school and covers topics seen in Indigenous communities such as trauma and how that can produce habits such as addiction and abuse.
Classroom Idea:
As the book is split up into chapters this could be a great book to read during snack breaks or lunch, reading one chapter each time! At the end of each chapter the teacher could facilitate a classroom discussion about what new things students learnt from this chapter and ask if they have any questions about what they learnt. The teacher could then take the students questions and find some content or answers to the students questions and share it with the class.