Jonathan Thunder

Naadamaading Jonathan Thunder

Written in the Ojibwe language, these delightful short stories bring to life the tales and traditions of the Ojibwe people while providing essential tools for language learning.

Meet Makoons and her friend Nigigoons. Together with their other friends and family, they go berrying and fishing, and listen to the stories of the elders.

These original stories, written in Ojibwe by a storytelling team of first-language speakers and scholars, delight readers and language learners with the antics of animals who playfully deal with situations familiar to children in all cultures: learning to work with others, listening to elders, venturing out alone, playing and working hard, and dodging dangers in the big world that surrounds their smaller lives. Interwoven in the stories are threads of Ojibwe culture and tradition. Suitable for all ages, this book can be read aloud, assigned to classes, shared at language tables, gifted to elders, and enjoyed by those curious about the language and Ojibwe culture.

Authored by a team of eleven Ojibwe language speakers and richly illustrated by Ojibwe artist Jonathan Thunder, Naadamaading was created to encourage learning Anishinaabemowin, the language of Ojibwe people. It is a monolingual text presented only in Anishinaabemowin.