Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is a generous and rich collection of stories and indigenous wisdom written and curated by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer and adapted from her book Braiding Sweetgrass . Released 1st Nov 2022 by Lerner on their Zest imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in paperback, library binding, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This book combines folkloric wisdom as it intersects science/botany and the deep longing most people feel to *belong* to something larger than the individual. Throughout the book there are stories handed down in an unbroken chain through oral tradition as well as practical knowledge. It's a hopeful, gentle book full of optimism.
Graphically, it's quite appealing, with pages broken up into sidebars and text boxes, interspersed with line drawn illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt. The author has also included an abbreviated bibliography and links for further reading.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 7 hours and 44 minutes and is beautifully narrated by Monique Gray Smith, who also adapted the book for a younger audience. She has a relaxing and quite soothing voice which makes the read contemplative and accessible (and not at all intimidating). Her accent (Pacific NW BC) will be noticeable to readers from further south, but soon fades into an appealing cadence and isn't ever obtrusive.
Five stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or possibly as a support/adjunct resource for related classroom study (world cultures, comparative religion, history, ecology/science, etc). The book is adapted for ~12-18 year olds, but there are valuable takeaways here for all ages.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.