No doubt you've heard the expression "a match made in heaven". It's applied to any pairing in which the combination of two components, especially people, is greater, more positive and powerful, than the sum of the parts. That's why this phrase continually ran through my mind as I enjoyed a remarkable new picture book. It combines uplifting and heart-tugging song lyrics written by Buffy Sainte-Marie with the evergreen talent of illustrator (and author/artist) Julie Flett. Both are Cree (Saint-Marie is Piapot-Cree Nation and Flett is Cree-Metis Nation). T he combination of their talents and identities elevates this lyrical, glorious picture book to a classic and timeless work of art.
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| GREYSTONE BOOKS, 2022 |
STILL THIS LOVE GOES ON is dedicated to those who have been adopted and to those who stepped up to "adopt back" indigenous children into Native families, providing them with a path to wholeness, moving forward into their futures. This dedicationis from Sainte-Marie, and Flett dedicated her contributions to the book to the loves of their lives: people, creatures, land, water, sky, and stars, both those who are missing and those who will be seen again.
I've become a deeply devoted fan of picture books from Greystone Books for many reasons. Among them is the frequency with which Julie Flett creates visual storytelling magic in many of their titles. I've reviewed several of her titles with this publisher, as author, illustrator, and both.Find those HERE, HERE, and HERE. I'm in awe of her use of colors, tones, shapes, and sweeping elements with edges that are somehow both defined and fluid. I also greatly admire her use of figures/features that are both evocative and authentic while suggesting universal truths and relationships among people and between elements of nature.
In each of these I find myself appreciating the production choices for trim size, use of matte textural papers, powerful double-spread shifts in mood, time, and seasons, and the ways these approaches combine to draw not only the eye, but the heart, enticing us to linger, to imagine, to join the characters on the pages.
As for Buffy Sainte-Marie and her lyric writing, I've been a fan since as far back as the sixties. Her nearly hypnotic language patterns and rhythmic music captivated me then, sparking some of my earliest interests in causes that continued to lead my life choices for decades. She has lost not an iota of relevance or talent. In fact, her current and recent works are even more compelling than those early ones were, which is saying a lot!
After that gushing but entirely sincere praise for these brilliant creators, the result of their efforts deserves the spotlight. STILL THIS LOVE GOES ON presents a line or or two of lyrics on each expansive spread, on which Flett's art explores specific and detailed references while expanding elements of each scene and plumbing the emotional themes of each of those lines. In the process, winter occupies double spreads, first in daylight and then during the night. Another page-turn shifts the characters to a memory of summer glory before returning to a snowy expanse. The lyrical refrain ("still this love goes on and on, still this love goes on") touches readers' hearts. Lines from the chorus after that reassuring line suggests sensory memories that anchor the characters in their present and root them in their heritage and culture (smell of sweetgrass, the sound of drums, the soar of singing, the sight of jingle dancers). Another verse suggests a young Native dancer visits, meets a love, and together they build their lives within that heritage and culture. The refrain resumes at each stage with a reassuring, almost lullaby effect, affirming that seasons, time, and other forces may work against it, but love is stronger, love goes on.
Within each line the words and phrasing incorporate figurative language that can readily inspire other lyric writers and also serve as mentor text for craft development for young readers.
The last pages provide sheet music with the lyrics and tune presented in simple G-clef bars that even budding musicians might attempt to play and sing along. Anyone wishing to hear it played and sung by Buffy Sainte-Marie can find that performance in THIS YOUTUBE clip.
I was fully absorbed by this remarkable book, despite approaching it with very high expectations. I hope you'll make any effort necessary to take a close look for yourselves and find others with whom you night share the experience. It is a picture book that sings to the eyes, the ears, and the heart.
