Description
Aninâtigo-anîbîshan Kichi-makwang, The Maple Leaves of Kichi Makwa, Les feuilles d'érable de Kichi Makwa is a trilingual, children picture book by Kitigan Zibi Algonquin poet and storyteller Albert Dumont. This 25-page illustrated book features the story about the Maple Leaves and why they turn colour every autumn in Algonquin, English, and French. This story explains how the maple leaves turn into bright reds, oranges, and yellows every fall. The story begins with the green maple leaves complaining how boring their leaves appear. In fact the leaves turned to teasing and bullying the birds, the squirrels, and even the rainbow. To teach the leaves a lesson Aki caused the land to turn cold and the trees lost their leaves. But all the animals and birds pleaded with Aki to return the warm weather and the leaves back to original colour. Aki relented but in doing so the seasons were created and the leaves learned to be more respectful of their friends the birds and animals. Each page has the French, English, and Algonquin language. French translation is provided by Geneviève Calve; Joan Tenasco provides the Algonquin translation.