Amik is another fantastic children’s book now available in the Indigenous literature category for readers to access. In Amik, as the night turns to day, the seasons change, the animals begin to wake and prepare for the day, all while the beaver is busy building a dam all throughout the day. While the beaver is preparing the dam all day, many other animals can be seen doing their own daily tasks and at the end of the day the beaver goes home to his family. Every single animal in Amik is busy; finding food, building homes, travelling, spending time with each other. Every animal is busy, but co-existing on Mother Earth, all while doing their part to take care of each other and Mother Earth.
The illustrations in Amik are Sharon’s creations. Every scene, every animal was handcrafted by Sharon and laid out to tell the story of Amik. The paper cut creations are so beautifully photographed it’s almost as if the reader could lift the pieces right off the page. Amik is eye-catching and so vibrantly illustrated that it draws the reader’s eyes into every small detail of Sharon’s words and art.
Every animal and human are busy, busy, busy like the beaver in Amik, we just often aren’t aware of everyone’s story and path. Build each other up, help each other, and co-exist like the story of Amik inspires us to do.
Amik is written in Ojibway to help readers learn Ojibway language and has the translations of the phrases on the same page. The phrases are also in different colours- black for Ojibway and white for English, which helps guides the reader’s eyes. While this book is marketed towards children, it can also be used for those older readers looking to learn or re-learn Ojibway and become familiar with more words in the Ojibway language. Amik is a fantastic book to read with the family to discuss the language, art, and the story.
Sharon King published her first children’s book Amik with Kegedonce Press in December 2021. Amik is now available for purchase in stores and online to purchase. Sharon is a Potawatomi from Wasauksing First Nation and is known to be an educator, performer, and producer. She has produced community arts programs and her travels have helped her gain a strong connection to other artists, filmmakers, and producers throughout Canada. Sharon’s strong hold on Indigenous culture and singing has helped maintain her efforts in keeping tradition present and ongoing within her family and her community. In a Youtube video Sharon uploaded, she said that the inspiration for writing Amik “initially came from an idea as an educator that created something that illustrated everything co-existing…”[1]
https://www.kegedonce.com/books/childrens-books/amik/
- King, “@Amik by Sharon King”, 14 June 2022, 0:00-0:11, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjv_DwKiFW4
