Rez Kid by Andrea Landry, Isabella Fassler
ISBN: 1525311255
Genres: Cultural / Native American, Family, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

This is a book that starts with a bullying moment on the bus. “Rez Kid!” a kid shouts as a Native girl gets on the bus and sits at the back, feeling sad and ashamed. When she gets home we see her spend time with different members of her family. She talks about what happened on the bus and asks for their advice.

The sensory writing is what really works here: the smell of herbal tea, the sound of her mothers hands moving through her bowl of beads, the feeling of shade beneath a tree while her horse drinks from a creek. The next time the kid on the bus yells, “Rez kid!” she stands up with pride and tells the kids on the bus how being on the reservation is something she loves. “I know the trails and the paths better than anyone. I grow my own food. My mama makes the best bannock.” she passes around pieces of the delicious dough. “My ancestors lived on my traditional lands. We speak our language, pray, dance powwow, smudge, snare rabbits and more.” She invites the kids to come on Friday after school to see the “rez” for what it is. One by one, the kids come off the bus as she shows them the beauty of the rez. How free it feels to be on the land, and how special her culture is.

This book excels at showing how an insult can be turned around to be used as a title of pride. The illustrations are created with pencil crayons and then finished digitally that beautifully capture the essence of nature on a reservation. A foreward explains what a reservation is and how they exist historically. Ages 4+

Review by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath