It’s a Mitig!

This lively picture book takes readers on an adventure through a forest from the giizis (sun’s) rising to the night sky dibiki-giizis (moon). It’s a Mitig! introduces 13 Ojibwe words in a playful, rhythmic manner. Each two-page spread features vivid, larger-than-life illustrations and a new Ojibwe word. Bridget George incorporates riddle-like English sentences to describe an item or animal in nature while simultaneously rhyming the Ojibwe word on each page. The rhyming pattern may help readers to correctly pronounce the Ojibwe word, or, if preferred, a pronunciation guide included at the back of the story can be used to learn how to say these words properly.

George’s It’s a Mitig! displays Indigenous cultural elements through more than just language: some illustrations of young children and their clothing within the story offer subtle hints of the culture as well. Although the focus in the story is on the natural landscape, a combination of both males and females with dark skin and light skin are pictured. This cultural blend through language and illustrations embraces the beauty of diversity and inclusion.

It’s a Mitig! is Anishinaabe author-illustrator Bridget George’s first book. Her heartfelt desire is to spark a lifelong interest in learning language. Recordings of It’s a Mitig! are available on her website, bridgetgeorge.com.

It’s a Mitig! is a beautiful and unique book. Children, as the instinctively curious beings that they are, will surely enjoy predicting what the Ojibwe words translate to in English and then verifying their predictions through the cartoon style illustrations. The vibrant and colourful illustrations filling every inch of each page, in combination the fun and playful language, will keep any young audience gripped from giizis to dibiki-giizis.