Description
Children’s love for animals and disguise come together in this award-winning introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals.
In this introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals, young children explain why they identify with different creatures such as a deer, beaver or moose. Delightful illustrations show the children wearing masks representing their chosen animal, while the few lines of text on each page work as a series of simple poems throughout the book.
In a brief author’s note, Danielle Daniel explains the importance of totem animals in Anishinaabe culture and how they can also act as animal guides for young children seeking to understand themselves and others.
Key Text Features
author’s note
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 4 to 7
- Grade:
- k to 2
- Reading age:
- 4 to 7
Awards
- Commended, TD Summer Reading Club, Recommended Reads
- Short-listed, Blue Spruce Award
- Commended, TD Summer Reading Club Top Recommended Reads
- Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens
- Winner, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
- Commended, CCBC Best Books for Children and Teens
- Commended, New York Public Library Best 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
- Commended, 49th Shelf Favourite Picture Books of the Year
Editorial Reviews
This book will fascinate children expanding their horizons and learning about other cultures (or, in the case of Anishinaabe kids, their own).
— Kirkus Reviews
A captivating book with an important message.
— ETFO Voice
The stylized masks, soft colours and big eyes of the children convey a seriousness, almost an otherworldliness, to the animal/human relationship. . . . Haunting and thought-provoking.
— Toronto Star
Reminds readers of the importance of critical self-reflection and of our connection to the animal world — two ideas worth championing at any age.
— Quill & Quire
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Annotations
Librarian review
Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox
In this introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals, young children explain why they identify with different creatures such as a deer, beaver or moose. Delightful illustrations show the children wearing masks representing their chosen animal, while the few lines of text on each page work as a series of simple poems throughout the book.
This book explores different parts of our identity, and invites response in a variety of curriculum areas: Drama (students become an animal of their choice and move and speak in role as that animal); Writing (write a first person account, in role, describing life as an animal); Visual Arts (create a mask or create an illustration to show an animal’s adventure) and Science (What facts do you know about that animal, What questions do you have about that animal characteristics?).
The author is available for school visits.
Source: Association of Canadian Publishers. Top Grade Selection 2016.
