Kindred Spirits: Shilombish Ittibachvffa

by Leslie Stall Widener, Johnson Yazzie (Illustrator)

Overview

A nonfiction picture book about the inspiring true pay-it-forward story that bridges two continents, 175 years, and two events in history—connecting Ireland, Choctaw Nation, Navajo Nation, and the Hopi Tribe.

1845. The Potato Famine devastated Ireland. An ocean away, Choctaw people heard and were moved by the similarities to the injustice they had suffered on the Trail of Tears. Though they had little, they gathered money to donate.

2017. Irish people built a statue to remember their connection to the Choctaw Nation—twenty-foot high feathers in the shape of a bowl.

2020. COVID-19 disproportionately ravished the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. Irish people remembered the Choctaws' kindness and paid it forward by donating.

Empathy creates kindness that lives well beyond a single act and includes more people the bigger it grows.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623543969
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	07/09/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	547,530
Product dimensions:	11.37(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.43(d)
Lexile:	850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Leslie Stall Widener is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She has illustrated six Choctaw-related picture books: Chukfi Rabbit’s Big, Bad Bellyache; The Turkey Who Liked to Show Off; Why the Turtle Has Cracks on His Back; The Story of Tanchi; Why the Possum Has No Hair on His Tail; and Why Rabbit Has a Short Tail. Leslie lives in McKinney, Texas, with her artist husband, Terry Widener.

Born on the Navajo Nation in Pinon, Arizona, Johnson Yazzie's interest in creation began in childhood and led to a lifelong career in fine art as a painter, bronze sculptor, and illustrator. Johnson illustrated Yossel's Journey by Kathryn Lasky. The Navajo word hózhó means balance, harmony, beauty. It is the word by which he lives.

Editorial Reviews

Leslie Stall Widener has numerous works to her credit as an illustrator, including Chukfi Rabbit's Big, Bad Bellyache; she makes her debut as an author with this uplifting picture book about the power of empathy. Throughout this moving work of nonfiction, acts of compassion crisscross the ocean when people recognize their common humanity in each other's struggles. Kindred Spirits is a compelling reminder of people's potential to make a difference, regardless of how much or how little they have. Complementing Widener's text is the enchanting acrylic paint artwork of Navajo painter, bronze sculptor, and illustrator Johnson Yazzie (Yossel's Journey).

Widener here tells a true, pay-it-forward tale through poetry accompanied by sidebars with background details. Starting in Ireland in 1847, she recounts the famine that took the lives of more than a million people: "Farmers can't explain why/ fields of healthy-looking plants/ changed overnight./ It is the beginning of the great hunger/ that changed Ireland." Four thousand miles away, the people of the Choctaw Nation learn of the Irish tragedy: "Wrapped in the warmth of family,/ each Choctaw man, woman, and child listens./ They feel the pain of the Irish people." Despite their own troubles, the Choctaw people donate a substantial sum of money to help the Irish farmers "in honor of the injustice/ suffered by both Nations./ Shilombish ittibachvffa./ Those who feel the same./ Kindred spirits." Widener then brings her readers to the 21st century, as the Covid-19 pandemic ravages the Navajo and Hopi Nations. This time the people of Ireland reach out: "More than twenty-six thousand Irish people/ donate—many citing the Choctaw-Irish connection,/ honoring their ancestors/ and showing how one act of kindness can grow."

A citizen of the Choctaw Nation herself, Widener relates this inspiring saga with reverence and beauty, constructing an accessible history for young readers that highlights the spectacular results of empathy and compassion. Yazzie's art features striking, sometimes near-fluorescent colors and a multitude of textures. His figures are contained within a thick, black line often outlined by another, lighter color—white, orange, yellow—this acts to bring people forward in each illustration, focusing the eye on the humans.

The book offers additional information in the backmatter, including facts about the Trail of Tears and the Irish Potato Famine, as well as a timeline of events. While Kindred Spirits is intended for young readers, it is a gift for audiences of all ages and should be a staple in anyone's library.

Shelf Talker: A member of the Choctaw Nation and a member of the Navajo Nation join forces in a stunning picture book that shares the uplifting story of how tragedy connected people from across an ocean.

From the Publisher