The Voyage of Wood Duck — Ta'n Teli Kaqasimiliala'sis Malsikws

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island.

This is an original story but one that might just as easily have come
from the collective memory of the Mi’kmaq people. It is commendable on
several counts. There is the voyage itself, so simply told in at times a
poetic prose. There is the hauntingly pervasive animism. Wood Duck is in
tune with nature; its loss causes him unease. Finally, there is the
underlying philosophy. “We are such stuff as dreams are made of” is
not just Prospero’s prerogative; here too, dreams and reality are
interwoven. The illustrations are colorful and striking. The provision
of a parallel Mi’kmaq text is a bonus. In all, a collector’s piece
for child and adult alike. Highly recommended.