Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 5 to 8
- Grade:
- 2 to 5
Editorial Reviews
"What a brilliant way to breathe life back into our wounded culture! Prior to contact, our children were taught important life lessons through stories. Caroll has captured the essence of this through her beautifully illustrated books and her masterful ability to take the stories to the stage where she has young people lay the different characters. This is a crucial time for First Nations in terms of language retention and general cultural redemption. Caroll’s work is not only timely, it is vital." —Robert Charlie, (former) Chief, Burns Lake Band
"Without any hesitation I highly recommend Caroll Simpson for any Meet the Author or Young Authors program. Besides being one of the most creative people working with children I have met in thirty-one years of teaching, her topic is culturally significant. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are always enriched by the variety of writers and artists who further our cultural understanding of those who were here before us. Her book, with its beautiful illustrations and decorative borders, is a storehouse of information and an excellent springboard for children’s writing." —Tracy Hagel, Third Grade teacher, Oak Harbor, WA
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Librarian review
The First Mosquito
Yax loses his spear among the trees one day. Ignoring his mother’s warnings about the dangers of the woods, he wanders into the forest. Soon he finds himself in peril. Fortunately, the members of the village are able to enlist the help of friendly spirit creatures—Creek Woman, Thunderbird, and the Lightning Snakes, who set a trap for the boy’s pursuers and help transform a fierce monster into the insect now known as the mosquito.
Elements of traditional storytelling, including a glossary of terms and images brings the reader knowledge of the First Nations people in this collection of books. This collection of books is useful in literacy planning, specifically, storytelling skills.
The themes found in this story are: perseverance, bravery, and how mosquitoes came to be.
Source: Association of Canadian Publishers. Top Grade Selection 2016.
