Nutshimit: a forest bath

By Melissa Mollen Dupuis          Illustrations by Elise Gravel

ISBN: 9781039701427   Publication date: August 2023   Ages: 6 and up   Cover: Hardcover

Two great Quebec creators, Melissa Mollen Dupuis and Elise Gravel, join forces to offer us a remarkable work, Nutshimit: A Forest Bath.

Go on an adventure and discover the Nutshimit of Melissa Mollen Dupuis, brilliantly illustrated by Elise Gravel. This playful documentary, told in the first person singular, is aimed at all nature lovers, young and old. Throughout the pages, Melissa takes us into the heart of the forest, her forest. She describes the territory so important to her nation and to all the First Nations of Canada. From the legend of the creation of the earth to life as an Innu today, the reader discovers the Nutshimit, the physical and social space where traditional activities are practiced (nibbling on birch bark, lighting a fire, baking a pashimeu (blueberry pie), braiding sweetgrass...).

In addition to finding all the elements so dear to forest life (animals, birds, flora, fauna, customs...), Melissa introduces Innu words to give us a complete immersion into her culture. We also find activities dear to Indigenous peoples, such as baking bannock, making maple syrup, or smoking salmon. Melissa's familiar and joyful tone, along with anecdotes from her experiences, make this work an essential tool for learning about life in the forest.