Debby Slier

Illustrated with color photographs, this lovely little board book profiles ten Native American babies, each held safely in their cradleboard - a traditional native baby carrier. Each page features a one-word description of what the baby is doing, from yawning to thinking, while the cradleboards themselves vary in style. On the final two-page spread, the tribal origin of each cradleboard is revealed...

Published in 2012, Cradle Me was issued in this English language edition, as well as show more bilingual Ojibwe/English (Dakonaawasotawishin / Cradle Me) and Navajo/English (Dah shííł tééł / Cradle Me) editions. The book will appeal to infants, who always enjoy looking at photographs of other infants - we get frequent requests for this kind of book, at work - as well as those looking for younger children's books with Native American content. I was fascinated to discover, during a cursory online search, that cradleboards are used, both by a wide array of Native American peoples, and also by the Saami, the indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Eurasia. I would imagine that the design is very convenient, in that it keeps the baby close to the mother, even when she must work or move around. The cradleboards profiled here come from the: Goshute/Paiute, Ojibwe/Leech Lake, Arapaho, Northern Ute/Uintah, Pueblo, Kootenai/Salish, Navajo/Dineh, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Shoshone/Bannock, and Yurok/Hupa.

Recommended to anyone looking for board books featuring photographs of infants, as well as to those seeking board books with Native American content. show less

A sweet board book featuring babies in cradle boards. This is a neat peek into a Native American tradition. Each baby displays an emotion which is labeled at the bottom of each page with one word. Under each word is a line for the parent (or other adult presenting the book to the baby) to write the word in their own language.
I think this was an amazing book even though it’s only 7 pages long. Not only do you get the joy of darling babies but the cradle boards are so beautiful. It’s a show more glimpse into a culture for anyone who is interested. For those who speak a Native language (or any other than English) it’s a chance to preserve some of those words.
I’m thinking this might be a book worth giving to my niece who turns 1 this summer. Her mom is from Brazil so she could write the words in Portuguese for them to share the book. show less

Slier presents an interesting way of learning about Native American culture. It provides a good starting point for getting children thinking about the culture, though it shouldn't stand on its own. Most children, and even most adults, wouldn't consider this aspect of the culture, and so it definitely fills a niche. However, more could have been done with it. As it stands, more focused is placed on the children within the cradleboards than on the actual cradleboards, making it a questionable show more resource and more for pleasure and interest. show less

Excellent book for building self-esteem among African American Children. "Black is Beautiful" is my favorite poem from this book. Over the past 15 years, I have donated this book to 3 school libraries as an inspiration to children.