Nicholas DeShaw is a proud father, educator, and traditional lacrosse coach, and
Loaf the Cat Goes to the Powwow is his debut picture book. He is Anishinaabe (Bois Forte Ojibwe), Migiziwan Odoodeman (he is Eagle clan). Nicholas studies and speaks the Ojibwe language. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Tara Audibert (moxyfox.ca) is a multidisciplinary artist working in film, animation, illustration, and fine art. Her previous books include the award-winning Jo Jo Makoons series (by Dawn Quigley),
Fiddleheads for Fox (which she also wrote), and
Moonbeam (by Gail Francis). Tara owns and runs Moxy Fox Studio, where she created the TV series
Lil Glooscap and the Legends of Turtle Island, the award-winning short films
I Am the Warrior and
The Importance of Dreaming, and the comics
This Place: 150 Years Retold and
Lost Innocence. She is of Wolastoqiyik and French heritage and lives in Sunny Corner, New Brunswick, Canada.
“Loaf, a feline protagonist, follows her Ojibwe-cued caretaker, Charlie, to a powwow in this simply told picture book. Fond of rubber bands, paper bags, and ribbon, Loaf takes note when ‘my boy started putting all these ribbons on his clothes.’ . . . In an animated picture book debut, Anishinaabe author DeShaw walks readers through the powwow’s Grand Entry, told through the perspective of Loaf the cat. . . . Audibert (the Jo Jo Makoons series), of Wolastoqiyik and French heritage, aptly capture the energy of a cat at play and a boy taking part in the powwow—and the two displaying affection for each other.” —
Publishers Weekly
“The tale of a cat and her boy. . . . DeShaw (Bois Forte Ojibwe and Eagle Clan) uses repetition to captures a cat’s uniquely self-possessed perspective; feline lovers will smile with recognition as Loaf assures them that sometimes her boy ‘thinks it’s time for sleep, but I know it is really time for play.’ Audibert, who’s of Wolastoqiyik and French heritage, directs readers’ attention to dancers in the powwow scenes; in her heavily stylized, thick-lined illustrations, the performers stand out with pops of color and swirls of movement. Delicate floral Ojibwe details are incorporated throughout. Both a purr-fect pet story and a vibrant celebration of cultural identity.”
—Kirkus Reviews
