The Chief Mistahimaskwa

author: David Alexander Robertson
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/06/05
date added: 2016/06/05
shelves: graphic-novels, non-fiction
review:
'The Chief Mistahimaskwa' by David Alexander Roberson with art by Scott B. Henderson tells the story of a Cree chief of the Saskatchewan Plains in a graphic novel format. It succeeds and fails on a few different levels.

There is a framing story about a girl named Sarah who has lost a book after an encounter with a bear. She later finds it and is taken into a living history version of the story in the book. We learn about Mistahimaskwa from the time he is little, all the way to his death. It's a good story, if an all too typical one. Food sources and land taken by settlers. That's not to say this isn't a story that needs to be told. Just that it is a sad one. Sarah is whisked out of her book adventure to pass it along to someone else in the class that might benefit.

I do like that this was presented as a graphic novel, but it feels like an educational book, meaning the facts presented feel dry sometimes. The art is a good average. The whole thing feels a bit like the old Classics Illustrated books, and that's not a condemnation. I just wish this sort of material were able to somehow be elevated a bit. I appreciated learning about this historical figure, and hopefully retelling this story will cause reflection.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Portage & Main Press, Highwater Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1PdisN5