Wednesday, November 5, 2008


The First Beaver

Yippi! My book is finally on the shelf!! After years of hard work The First Beaver has been published! Here is the review;

The First Beaver Author: Caroll Simpson Heritage House Children's / Native art and history 978-1-894974-50-910.25 x 8.25, 32 pages, full colour throughout, hardcover, ages 6-11.

This is a story of how the first beaver came to be. It tells of how a girl child, Reedee, is born with hair the colour of Mother Earth, not the colour of the Raven like the rest of the people in her tribe. It isn't just her hair that sets Reedee apart: The First People worked by the light from the sun and the fire. At night, everyone slept-everyone except Reedee! When darkness fell, she disappeared into the forest."Where does she go?" Reedee's mother asked her husband.

Her parents wanted Reedee to fit in and be happy.When her parents discover that Reedee has a path she must follow on her own, they support her and allow her to become her true self-and the best that she can possibly be.

Caroll Simpson's charming tale is vividly illustrated with her own distinctive colour paintings. Her storytelling and illustrations not only capture the beauty of the Northwest and its flora and fauna, they also teach about Aboriginal culture in the details of everyday life portrayed in the articles of traditional clothing, baskets and boxes.

The book includes a glossary of crests and their significance in First Nations culture.Caroll Simpson taught Native art and drama to grade-school children for many years before buying Ookpik Wilderness Lodge, a remote fishing lodge, in the northern interior of British Columbia. She spends the off-season writing and painting. She sees her work as a celebration of the legends and art of the First Peoples of the Northwest.