The Search for Gluscap

Gr 1-3–A Mi’kmaq girl named Mali and her magical friend Puug search for Gluscap, the protector of all living things, in order to save the serpent who is the guardian of their river, bring back the salmon that seem to be disappearing, and restore balance to the land. Once upon a time, Mali’s father tells her, giant beavers dammed up the river so the salmon couldn’t spawn. Gluscap stopped them, throwing the biggest beaver to the ground so hard that it became a mountain, and shrinking the others so they were too small to disrupt the river. Puug fills in a later part of the story, explaining that strangers came and built a lumber mill that poisoned the river and the serpent that was its guardian. Mali and Puug work with the animals of the region, including the still-recalcitrant beavers, to locate Gluscap and capture the serpent so he can heal it. This graphic novel offers several interesting details—notably, the story of Gluscap and the beavers is told twice, with two different art styles and slightly different emphases—and places a strong focus on maintaining nature’s balance. The art is simple with little detail, which makes the story easy to follow, and the animals have especially expressive faces. Some of the dialogue is in Mi’kmaq (Mitchell’s heritage) with an English translation included in the same panel.