FICTION

Johnny’s Pheasant

by Cheryl Minnema (text) & illus. by Julie Flett
University of Minnesota Pr. Nov. 2019. 32p. Tr $16.95. ISBN 9781517905019.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1–Young Johnny spots a pheasant by the side of the road, as he and his grandmother return from the grocery store. They pull over to check on it. Grandma says the pheasant is dead, but Johnny believes it is sleeping. They agree to bring the bird home for separate reasons: Johnny plans to care for it and keep as a pet, and Grandma wants to use its feathers to make crafts. The pheasant has plans of its own, giving Johnny and Grandma a pleasant surprise. Charming folk-art color illustrations are on one page with text on the opposite page. The illustrations cover two pages when Grandma and Johnny first approach the pheasant, with the text in the sky. The narrative touches on compassion and death as a daily part of life.
VERDICT Sweet and amusing, this modern Native intergenerational story is a good general purchase.
Reviewed by Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Library, WA , Dec 01, 2019

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