Paris Public Library Book Review: Thanks to the Animals

Author: Allen Sockabasin, Passamaquoddy Storyteller
Illustrator: Rebekah Raye

Thanks to the Animals, a children’s fictional picture book, authored by a Maine Passamaquoddy storyteller, is a perfect read for Native American Heritage Month. Its “gentle yet strong words” (Joseph Bruchac), the delightful, colorful artwork of our natural world, and the spirit of the Passamaquoddy all ring clear.

Taking place in Maine in the early winter of the 1900s, Baby Zoo Sap’s Native American family prepares to migrate from their home on the northern frigid shore to deep into the woods for more protection from the cold and snow. They take down their cedar dwelling, log by log, and pack each log on a long bobsled. They add the food they have collected, prepared, and saved during the summer. Dressed in warm sealskins, they climb on the bobsled, mother and father up front steering the sled, and the children in the back, including Baby Zoo Sap.

Then, something terrible happens on their journey; Baby Zoo Sap is missing!

Read this enchanting Passamaquoddy tale to find out what happened to Baby Zoo Sap. Where did he go? Did they find him? Was he OK?

The illustrations in Thanks to the Animals are so vivid, they tell the story; you can actually “picture read” this tale.

If you want to hear this story read in the Passamaquoddy language by the author, Allen Sockabasin, go to the website at www.tilburyhouse.com.

And…on the last page of the book, you will find the Passamaquoddy names for the Maine woodland animals illustrated in the book. Enjoy!