These two chapter books featuring 7-year-old Josephine "Jo Jo" Makoons Azure are quick (60-70 pages each, total, so about 35 printed pages), easy to read, with lots of illustrations to keep readers engaged and turning pages. They each have a glossary of 6-10 Ojibwe and Michif words in the back.
Jo Jo is proud of her community on a fictional Ojibwe reservation and she and her family speak Ojibwe and Michif. She goes to school where she has school friends and is still learning all the ins and outs of idioms and figurative language. This leads to many a gentle misunderstanding with her kokum (grandmother), her mom and Teacher. Mimi the cat, and Jo Jo's best home friend, speaks a whole other language Jo Jo hasn't quite figured out yet.
In Fancy Pants, Jo Jo creates a list and goes about figuring out how to be "fancy" for an upcoming wedding, including how to eat and look fancy, and what "fancy things" to do at a wedding.
Enjoy!
