Birdsong

Being a Julie Flett fan, I was pleased to have the opportunity to review her latest book, Birdsong. As I expected would be the case, it is another wonderful achievement from one of Canada’s pre-eminent figures in the field of children’s literature. In Birdsong, a young Indigenous girl and her mother move from their city residence near the beach to a new home in the countryside. Katherena is sad to leave behind family and friends and her comfortable, familiar neighbourhood. While she enjoys the natural beauty of her new surroundings, Katherena is lonely and in need of a friend. Despite their large age gap, the young girl finds the friend she needs in her nearest new neighbour, the elderly Agnes.

Flett has received numerous awards for her work. Among other things, she received the 2016 American Indian Library Association Award and the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award. She is firmly entrenched in her position among Canada’s most highly regarded and most capable creators. She has a distinctive style that initially appears colourfully simple, yet further analysis reveals enticing layers of sophistication, depth, and detail.

In Birdsong, the heavily textured artwork mirrors the passage of time as one season follows another. The book is divided into seasonal sections. The change of seasons reflects the renewal of the cycle of life as, for instance, winter yields to spring. The same is true also of the aged Agnes with her declining health. This decline comes only after her wisdom and friendship have strengthened and “improved” young Katherena. One expects that, in turn, Katherena will surrender to the ravages of age, but this will happen only after her place has been taken by a younger person who has evolved and been endowed with wisdom gained through an acquaintance with Katherena.

In Birdsong, the spare, poetic written text is enhanced by the detail of the digitally composed pastel and pencil illustrations. Much of the wide open beauty of Katherena’s new countryside surroundings is in the fact that those wide open spaces contain delicate flowers, boldly colourful birds, like red Cardinals and cheerful chickadees.

Flett is Cree-Métis, and she includes a glossary for three Cree words (with a pronunciation guide) at the front of the book, before the title page. Although the three words are explained in context within the narrative, the presence of the glossary upfront reinforces the value and importance of Indigenous languages. Furthermore, glossaries are usually hidden away at the back of a book to be stumbled upon after one has finished reading. Having seen the Birdsong glossary up front, I would like to see other publishers put them front-and-centre more often—not necessarily to read first, but simply to alert the reader of their presence in the book for when they might be helpful during the reading event.

For one with such an eye for detail as Flett’s work suggests she has, I am distracted by the illustration depicting waxing and waning moons. I was even more surprised when I removed the dust jacket to see that same phases of the moon illustration on the book cover. Eight moon images are shown but, inexplicably, two of them are the same. As the moon waxes from the new moon stage, through the waxing crescent moon to the half-moon, the next moon image should be a waxing three-quarter moon. Instead it is shown as another crescent. It is out of order. I cannot figure out how that detail was missed by Flett and the production team. It is an unfortunate, disappointing, and distracting error in what is otherwise an impressive book.

Children will enjoy Flett’s enticing illustrations. Adults will enjoy the intergenerational relationship of Katherena and Agnes. Readers young and old will come together and enjoy the sweet lyrical prose of Birdsong. It is a book that will further enhance Flett’s already lofty reputation.