What the jury said:

A profound poem of gratitude from the Iroquois tradition of Indigenous peoples in the region covered today by Canada and the United States, this remarkable, leporello format book creates a physical space for communal reading through Vanina Starkov’s lush, mural-painting-inspired illustrations. Lyrical compositions offer up a comprehensive inventory of nature, from people to Mother Earth, water, fish, plants, and more, featuring the original language’s nomenclature for these elements. The work’s musicality transforms it into a song, a prayer, a celebration of the beauty of all living beings, not to mention a brilliant tribute to their interdependence. As a literary piece, it embodies pure ecological and spiritual wisdom, gratitude, and scientific and cosmic awareness. More precious and enlightening than ever in modern illustrated book form, the book presents a magnificent invitation to cultivate new harmony with the planet.