New Ojibwe children's book tackles the cosmos, love and grief between the generations

Thomas Peacock will be appearing at the Cloquet Public Library Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. to present his newest book, "The Forever Sky." The book is about the love between grandparents and grandchildren, grief and the Ojibwe cosmos. Thomas Peacock is a retired UMD professor and member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Anishinaabe Ojibwe. He has written many books about Ojibwe traditions and knowledge such as "Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look in All Directions." He is also the co-author of "To Be Free: Understanding and Eliminating Racism," a book on acknowledging, confronting and alleviating racism.

The illustrator of "The Forever Sky" is Annette S. Lee, an astrophysicist at St. Cloud State and artist who is the director of the Native Skywatchers research and teaching initiative which seeks to communicate and revitalize Ojibwe and D(L)akota sky and earth knowledge. Lee is mixed-race Native American and her communities are Ojibwe and D(L)akota. For the book illustrations she used the X-ray pictograph style which shows the internal organs and skeletons of animals.

Additionally, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College hosted a special book launch event with Peacock April 25.

Below is a short interview with Thomas Peacock.

Q. In your story, "The Forever Sky," grandparents play an important role. What was your relationship like with your grandparents?

Thomas Peacock: My grandmother on my father's side lived right next to us for some years and that was very nice. My mother's parents lived a mile or so away and we spent a lot of time there as well.

Q. What were you like as a child?

Peacock: I was a quiet, nerdy type, good at school. I wore glasses as an elementary school student. I always planned to go to college, even as a young child, and I did, eventually receiving a doctorate.

Q. What inspired you to write "The Forever Sky?"

Peacock: I wanted to be able to tell part of the story of the Ojibwe sky. In schools, everyone learns the Greek sky, the constellations. Native people have their own constellations, and the book tells a bit about Ojibwe cosmology. I also wanted to tell a story about grieving, and the Ojibwe story about our beliefs in the path of souls, and land of souls.

Q. How did your collaboration with Annette Lee, the illustrator, begin?

Peacock: We've actually met only very recently, after we were done with our work on the book. I wrote the manuscript and she, independently, worked to develop the illustrations. I certainly was aware of her art, and her work as a scholar, as an astronomer and head of Native Skywatchers.

Q. Do you have any advice for young people who'd like to be authors?

Peacock: Write as you speak. Talk the story out with someone for ideas. Let the voice in your head tell you the story.

Q. What projects are keeping you busy now?

Peacock: My wife and I own Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing, focusing on publishing Native children's books. Our first two books are being released this month: "Grasshopper Girl" by Dakota author Teresa Peterson, illustrated by Jordan Rodgers, Oglala Lakota; and "Rez Dog" by Ojibwe author Heather Brink, again illustrated by Jordan Rodgers. We are also doing a board book for a local Head Start. And, I'm finishing another children's book, "The Dancers" (illustrations are done, story is written), and a novel, "The Wolf's Trail," which is in the process of being edited.

Q. What gives you hope for the future?

Peacock: My faith in the Creator and its perfect goodness.