I See Me by Margaret Manuel is one of those books that can be personalized by its owner.
For example, the text on the first page is "I see me AWAKE." Beneath that sentence is a blank line for me to write the Tewa word for awake. What language will you use on your copy?
The child shown on the cover is on each page. Some pages are about the things all babies do (smile, cry) and some are things specific to Native cultures. The cover page, for example, shows the baby with a drum. See the drumstick? (Note to authors and illustrations... Native peoples in the US and Canada use drumsticks rather than hands to drum.)
Published by Theytus Books, I See Me was an Honourable Mention at the New York Book Festival in 2010. Available from Theytus is a downloadable file of the Okanagan words for the ones in the book, and Theytus plans to add words from other First Nations languages, too.
If you want to know more about the Okanagan people, visit their website. When you click on the website for the Okanagan Nation Alliance, pause a moment and listen to the "The Okanagan Song" by Trish and Bruce Manuel before clicking through to the rest of the site.
Located in Canada, Theytus was established in 1980. It was the first publishing house in Canada owned and operated by Indigenous people.
