A vibrant story of traditional indigenous knowledge and the many uses of sweetgrass. It's early July, and for Matthew and his Auntie that means one thing: time to go sweetgrass picking. This year, Matthew's younger cousin Warren is coming along, and it will be his first time visiting the shoreline where the sweetgrass grows.

With Auntie's traditional Mi'kmaw knowledge and Matthew's gentle guidance, Warren learns about the many uses for sweetgrass—as traditional medicine, a sacred offering, a smudging ingredient—and the importance of not picking more than he needs. Once the trio is back at Auntie's house, she shows the boys how to clean and braid the grass.

Sweetgrass grows in wet meadows, low prairies, and the edges of sloughs and marshes . It grows from Labrador to Alaska, south to New Jersey, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, and Arizona. Widely used by North American indigenous peoples from many different Nations, it is also considered one of the "four sacred medicines" by many Plains Indians. (From Nimbus Publishing Limited)

Theresa Meuse is a First Nations educator and advisor. Her previous books include The Gathering, which was illustrated by Leonard Paul. Sweetgrass was longlisted for the 2023-2024 First Nation Communities Read Awards in the children's category. Meuse was born in the Bear River First Nation and lives in Elmsdale, N.S.

Jessica Jerome is a two-spirit graphic designer, born in the Listuguj Mi'kmaw First Nation, and raised as a member of the Mi'kmaq's of Gesgapegiag.