The Sugarbush Coloring Book

The Sugarbush Coloring and Activity Book covers the traditional practice of maple syrup collection and processing, as conducted by a regional Ojibwe community sugar bush operation. Included are pages on ceremonial preparation, tapping trees, collecting and boiling down the sap, cultural exchanges that happen during the processing, and finishing the syrup. Two mazes, a word search, a matching activity, and instructions for making your own makak are included to help children and their families engage more deeply with the information and have fun at the same time. While younger children (3+) can enjoy simply coloring the images, older children (6+) can also use the stories and glossaries to start learning more about the language and traditions of the Ojibwe people.

Children and their families have an opportunity to learn about Wisconsin's Ojibwe Indian lifeways and teachings through the Ojibwe Traditions Coloring and Activity Books. The series was created by writer and illustrator Cassie Brown as an extension of the community relations work of The Indigenous Cultures Center at Northland College near Ashland, Wis. Each of the four books focuses on different aspects of American Indian Ojibwe life and traditions, from the powwow to wild ricing, and showcases different Ojibwe language vocabulary words. The books include word scrambles and mazes and other activities focused on helping children and their families engage more deeply with information and have fun at the same time. While children age three and old can enjoy coloring the images, older children can also use the stories and glossaries in the book to start learning more about the Ojibwe language and traditions.