Maine was well represented at a panel on picture books at the National Book Festival! We invite you to hear what Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey, authors of the picture book, The First Blade of Sweetgrass, had to say about the importance of children seeing themselves and their cultures reflected back to them in what they read. There is a link to the recorded talk and more information about the book on our website:  https://mainehumanities.org/blog/news-announcements/at-the-national-book-festival/

About the Authors:
Suzanne Greenlaw is a citizen of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. A Ph.D. candidate in the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine, she works to restore Wabanaki stewardship practices throughout Maine. Gabriel Frey (pronounced Fray) is a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Nation. He is an awarded-winning basket maker, artist, and cultural knowledge keeper. His mother and Suzanne and Gabriel’s two daughters, Musqon and Alamos sit, helped inspire this story.

About the Illustrator:
Nancy Baker is a Maine artist, illustrator, and muralist whose landscapes, still lifes, and figurative works in oils and pastels are represented by Mars Hall Gallery in Tenants Harbor, Maine.  While visiting the sweetgrass meadows of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park with Suzanne and Gabriel, Nancy learned the ecology and cultural importance of sweetgrass and witnessed the majesty of the landscape in which it grows, qualities that she has worked to convey in these illustrations.

Enjoy!


Lizz Sinclair (she/her)
Program Coordinator
Grants & Partnerships
Maine Humanities Council<https://mainehumanities.org/>
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