Ancient Thunder by Ojibwe author and illustrator Leo Yerxa is the 2006 winner of the Governor General's Award for Illustration. Yerxa draws on his appreciation and delight for the wild horses of the Plains as inspiration for the book. In this unique tribute, Yerxa works with hand-made watercolour paper that has the appearance of leather. His technique, developed through patient experimentation, gives the magnificent images of galloping horses the sense that their thundering hooves are like a force of nature. The watercolour and gouache images of horses begin at the end pages and continue throughout the 32-pages. The time is set during the Strawberry Moon and readers will view the horses coming into view as they race across the Plains. They run over a sea of grass, chasing buffalo and antelope, and finally rest in the tall grass at day's end and sleep in the moonlight. The next morning the wild horses run again and this time they carry humans, the First Nations of the Plains. The artist places the horses within the context of the Plains Nations by painting the horses onto fringed-Plains shirts. The brilliant colours of the day and night skies and the landscape draw the viewer's attention to the multi-coloured horses. This picture book will appeal to younger readers who will find opportunities to count and match the images of the horses. Older readers will appreciate the spare lyrical text that matches the rhythm of the book as well the amazing art illustration. Leo Yerxa explains in an end note the details of the illustration process. Reading Level: 3.4. Highly recommended. French Version - https://goodminds.com/products/tonnerre-ancien-ancient-thunder
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