Each child received four or five books. (Submitted photo/Mark Williment)

By Derek Cornet

reading skills

Books donated to Sucker River students to celebrate Family Literacy Day

Jan 27, 2022 | 4:52 PM

Family Literacy Day was celebrated Thursday at Sucker River’s Chief Moses Ratt School.

It began this morning at 10:30 a.m. with a live reading of When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Calendar by Miriam Körner and Bernice Johnson-Laxdal. The online reading was sponsored by the Saskatchewan Literacy Network (SLN) and it was viewed by approximately 16,000 students across the province.

Chief Moses Ratt School principal Mark Williment explained SLN president and Lac La Ronge Indian Band superintendent Robert Dolan, as well as executive director Phaedra Hitchings visited the school too.

“They came by the school this afternoon and met all of the kids and brought books for kids to take home and keep to encourage kids to be good readers,” Williment said. “The two of them spoke to staff about how we can get more books for free or low cost for kids in Sucker River.”

Williment mentioned each child was given four or five books and even more were donated for students who are absent due to an increase of COVID cases in the community. Chief Moses Ratt School offers classes between Kindergarten and Grade 7.

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When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Calendar was a winner in the Children’s Literature category at the 2018 Saskatchewan Book Awards. In 2017, the book won an International Moonbeam Children’s Book Award in the Multi-Cultural and Non-Fiction category.

Students watched an online reading of When the Trees Crackle with Cold: A Cree Calendar. (Submitted photo/Mark Williment)

A children’s picture book written in Cree and English, the story is about the Cree moon calendar and the traditional activities undertaken during different months. Körner lives near La Ronge and Johnson-Laxdal is originally from Île-à-la-Crosse.

“The students certainly can make a connection to the book itself and the authors,” Williment said. “It was a fantastic opportunity for kids to see themselves in the reading.”

Williment noted literacy skills are important for young students because good readers become better learners and they will be much more successful in life.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno