Nanabosho and Kitchie Odjig

Christine Linge is a past director of the Toronto & District Parent
Co-operative Preschool Corporation, a freelance writer, and a bookseller
specializing in children’s literature.

When two children ask their grandfather about the Big Dipper (called the
Great Fisher by the Ojibwa), he tells them an Anishinabe legend. In the
tale, Nanabosho follows the sound of beautiful singing and finds Kitchie
Odjig chanting a magical song that allows him to leap easily across a
lake. Nanabosho begs to be taught this wonderful chant. Kitchie Odjig,
eager for a rest, instructs him, but warns Nanabosho not to sing “the
shores of the lake go apart,” lest he drown.

Nanabosho enjoys performing the chant but cannot resist singing the
forbidden song to see what will happen. Sure enough, he plunges into the
water and must be rescued by Kitchie Odjig. Nanabosho admits that
Kitchie Odjig is an

elder Manitou and resolves always to obey his elders.

Amply illustrated by two artists, with decorations and color paintings
on each page, the artwork has a homemade naiveté that suits the
colloquial language and simplicity of the tale. One of a series of
Nanabosho legends, which includes Nanabosho and the Woodpecker and
Nanabosho, Soaring Eagle and the Great Sturgeon, this volume is a good
picturebook retelling of the story. However, readers unfamiliar with
Anishinabe folklore may be left with some questions: Who is Nanabosho?
Why does Kitchie Odjig perform this magic? What does the Great Fisher
have to do with the Big Dipper? Recommended with reservations.