Grand Chief Salamoo Cook Is Coming to Town! is a new musical picture book written by infamous Canadian writer, composer and playwright Tomson Highway. The readers follow the story of never seen before occasion in Kisoos where the whole town is invited to compete for one huge prize - a year’s supply of all-healing waaskee-choos juice, fresh from spruce cones that have just fallen. The participants of this event face a whole bunch of rules and challenges, some rabbits find them unnecessary, the others think the contest is interesting and fun. Readers will see a riot, conflicts and a distrust of authority. Participants divide, the event is close to a rebellion, if the prize is worth the hassle offered? Nevertheless, Weeskits and his friends join the contest to get new experiences and learn the power of good teamwork.
Our favorite part in the book is when Weeskits participates in the contest and what he learns from it, his reflections and admiration on how beautiful the place where he lives - land, surroundings, trees, animals and plants. If he had never participated in this event how he could find out how spectacular his home land is.
The story features several Cree terms and is accompanied by nine jazzy songs performed in Cree by different performers. The songs and the story narrative are available on major streaming platforms and the lyrics can be found in the book with English translations.
Readers can look up words in the glossary at the end of the book and learn how to say them with pronunciation videos recorded by Tomson Highway. The readers will be impressed how beautifully the book is illustrated to reflect turning points of the story about Salamoo Cook visit. We loved colorful images of nature, funny and cute faces of Kisoos rabbits.
For more information about Grand Chief Salamoo Cook Is Coming to Town! book, the author Tomson Highway and Cree Language resources please visit the Secret Mountain web site. You can also browse and download individual activity sheets related to the book here. Activities include Cree language and counting exercises, a Cree Across Canada map, a word search, a crossword and more.
