Kid Review – Our Ancestors’ Kitchen – picture book

Poll, Willie. Our Ancestors’ Kitchen. Pictures by Shaikara David. NP: Annick Press, 2025.

Guide to categories: Kid Review – review of books for elementary-aged and younger children

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Summary

A poignant and poetic picture book celebrating traditional Indigenous harvesting, foods, and the connections that these build for all our relations.

It’s a special day: the young protagonist in this memorable story is learning her grandfather’s favorite recipe from her grandmother! As each ingredient is prepared for this special dish, readers will be eager to follow along as they are transported back to each instance of gathering, hunting, and harvesting foods in the traditional ways throughout the seasons.

Willie Poll’s poetic voice leads the readers through the seasons and what Mother Earth offers to us in nature in this beautiful celebration of the Earth, our foods, our family, and the importance of grieving those we love. With an emphasis on the importance of thanking the land for what is given to us, sharing with our community, and offering a plate to our ancestors, this gentle and thoughtful tale will resonate with readers young and old alike. Shaikara David’s bright and inviting illustrations carry the cooking experience from the kitchen, to the forest, and back again.

Purchase Our Ancestors’ Kitchen on Amazon – https://amzn.to/4lPWfKL

My Kid Review

Having worked on the Navajo Reservation for 20 I have a heart for Native peoples and a passion for sharing literature about those peoples. One of my standards has always been that the literature needs to identify the people group it is discussing. Our Ancestors’ Kitchen does not do that. The author uses native terms (not sure which language as it isn’t identified) and doesn’t always include an in context definition. A glossary would have been helpful as would an author’s note about the tribe depicted in the story. 

I do love the concept of the story – learning about culture through food and the fact that tastes can invoke strong memories. The child in the story does have a vivid imagination – she is able to “see” ancient peoples just by tastes – the tastes probably remind her of stories she has previously heard. 

Because there is no specific tribe mentioned in the book, I cannot recommend the book for school libraries, although librarians may want to read the book for themselves to determine if the book is appropriate for their audience.

I received a complimentary copy of Our Ancestors’ Kitchen. This is my honest review. 

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