Sigh.
Continuing my recent quest for picture books about berries following my first trip to the Northwest Raspberry Festival, I picked up It’s Time for Berries!
This 2023 picture book by Ceporah Mearns and Jeremy Debicki (illustrated by Tindur Peturs) has only the best of intentions. It is a story about Inuit children and their ningiuq (grandmother) spending time together. They fish, they dig claims, and, finally, as the title indicates, they gather berries. They gather lots and lots of berries, store them, and cook with them. There’s love here, and a celebration of a family life that is often ignored, or even unknown. (How many grandmothers jump on the snowmobile to go gather berries, for example?)
And I’m afraid that’s it. This is valuable for documenting aspects of culture, and letting children seem themselves represented…but the story lacks spark and tension. There’s minimal effort or risk, and I found myself turning the final page, looking for more. The illustrations are pleasant enough, but on the basic side. They neither use Inuit traditions nor engage on their own; they seem cartoonish, in the sense of being basic.
So, I salute the goals here, but this was only meh for me.
