Review by Booklist Review
Spunky seven-year-old Josephine "Jo Jo" Makoons Azure, a first-grader living and attending school on the fictional Pembina Ojibwe Reservation, returns in the adorable third installment of a clever and kindhearted early chapter-book series celebrating tribal community and culture. Plucky Jo Jo notices that Mama, Kokum, and cat Mimi each have their own way of staying healthy: Mama runs, Mimi takes vitamins, and Kokum "is in love with sugar" but has "die-beeties"--for which she takes medicine. Over nine quick chapters, Jo Jo embraces Teacher's lesson about healthfulness and checking on Elders and coordinates a snowy, multigenerational, neighborhood "Ojibwe Olympics," complete with round-dancing and lip-pointing. Audibert (Wolastoqey/French) nails Jo Jo's animated personality with her ebullient, cartoonish spot and full-page grayscale illustrations. Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) continues to affirm Native identity through peppered use of Michif and Ojibwe language while eliciting Amelia Bedelia--style giggles with Jo Jo's high jinks and wholesomely naive worldview. A terrific pick for fans of plucky protagonists like Ryan Hart, Marisol Rainey, and Jasmine Toguchi.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--Seven-year-old JoJo Makoons is enjoying her first real snow day. No e-learning is occurring today due to an internet outage on the Ojibwe reservation where JoJo lives. She has been learning about healthy foods and being neighborly in school. With those topics in the forefront of JoJo's mind, she and her friends set out to create Olympic games of their own. Outdoor adventures include rolling down the hill, using burned fry bread, and a lip pointing race that even the elders can get involved in. Being healthy and neighborly are woven throughout the nine chapters. New readers will adore JoJo's voice and hilarious take on life. This early chapter book includes journal entries from JoJo, a glossary with pronunciation guide, and black-and-white illustrations. VERDICT Readers will laugh out loud at JoJo's antics and opinions as she embraces her community, heritage, and love for life. Give to fans of "Junie B. Jones." Recommended for all libraries.--Tracy Cronce
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An Ojibwe girl learns that being healthy goes beyond diet. It seems everyone in 7-year-old Jo Jo's life is trying to be healthy--her Mama, her Kokum, even her cat, Mimi, who takes vitamins. When her first grade class begins a unit on healthy eating, Jo Jo jumps in with both feet, even if her ideas of "healthy" are often harebrained (like substituting ice cream for milk in her cereal). At the same time, Jo Jo, who lives on the fictional Pembina Ojibwe Reservation, does her best to heed her tribal chair and check in on her neighbors, especially her Elders. When school is canceled due to a snowstorm, Jo Jo proposes that she and her classmates hold their own "winner" Olympics and invite Elders to participate, too. What unfolds are the Ojibwe Olympics, complete with lip-pointing races and round-dancing, and Jo Jo learns that being in community is an important part of being healthy. This third book in Quigley's (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) series is a charmer, with the spunky, bighearted protagonist continuing to raise laughs and inspire. Readers will be enchanted by Jo Jo's voice and Audibert's (of Wolastoqey and French heritage) cute, cartoon-style illustrations, rendered in grayscale. Ojibwe values are woven deftly into the fabric of the story. A glossary of the Ojibwe and Michif words enhances the reading experience. Jo Jo's classmates are diverse in the artwork. An absolute delight. (about this story, author's note, letter to readers by editor Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Fiction. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
