Seattle Super Reader Book of the Month with SUPERintendent Denise Juneau - Fry Bread

Hello Seattle Super Readers. I’m Superintendent Denise Juneau. I wanted to take a moment to read aloud from a book called Fry Bread, a Native American family story by native author Kevin Noble Maillard. I loved it so much that I thought I would share it with you all today. But first did you know that November is Native American Heritage Month? I am proud to be an enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa tribes and a descendant of the Blackfeet, Oneida and Tlinget Haida nations. Did you also know that almost 3000 students in Seattle Public Schools identify as Native American, American Indian, or Alaska Native and represent more than two hundred and thirty tribes? Pretty cool, huh? In Seattle Public Schools we believe that every student has a place in our classrooms and that we should celebrate everyone’s backgrounds, cultures, and identities. This month and always we celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of our students. We all belong in Seattle Public Schools.

01:24 - Our Seattle Super Readers have been hard at work reading this school year whether it was through online book resources or through your school library curbside pickups. I’ve seen so many happy Super Reader faces as you build your reading skills. I am so proud of you. And now we’re going to read a little bit from the book Fry Bread. Fry Bread, a Native American family story. Fry bread is food. Flour, salt, water, corn meal, baking powder, perhaps milk, maybe sugar, all mixed together in a big bowl.

02:09 - Have any of you ever cooked a meal or made a special dessert or bread that you can celebrate and you know how putting all that together sort of helps form a good meal for your families? Well this is a similar type of story. Fry bread is shape. Hands mold the dough flat like a pancake, round like a ball or puffy like Nana’s softest pillow. If you’ve ever made any kind of bread you know that it has a special sort of texture that you, in fry bread — when we make it in my family we stretch it out and so we stretch it so that it’s a little bit flat, a little bit puffy so that the next step can be… Fry bread is sound. The skillet clangs on the stove. The fire blazes from below. Drop the dough in the skillet. The bubbles sizzle and pop. So the bread goes into some really hot grease which you probably should not attempt but when you hear that sound you know exactly, you can start thinking about how that’s going to taste, what you’re going to put on top of it, and just the color of it and you can kind of picture how the bread is going to, going to look. And I know that when we look at this, this page it talks a lot about sound and so when you are thinking of different types of sounds you know the fact that it sizzles and it pops.

03:44 - And so when you are thinking of things that you cook what are the sounds that it makes as well? Fry bread is color. Golden brown, tan or yellow. Deep like coffee, sienna, or earth. Light like snow and cream. Warm like rays of sun. This is what I was talking about when you think about the color of your bread or whatever it is that you’re cooking. You can really, you know if you think of a slice of bread you can think about the colors. Here it talks about deep like coffee or earth. You know what are some other words that you can think of that you can compare that type of color to? And then over here, it’s sort of how it makes you feel.

04:32 - You know there’s a lot of conversation now about comfort food, of eating things that bring you comfort. And so when it’s like snow and cream, or warm you can think about the types of things that you eat that bring you comfort. And what are some of those types of foods as you start thinking about how we enjoy food and what sort of memories come with different types of food that you eat and that’s really where this story also is aligning with that. Fried bread is flavor. See beans or soup. Smell tacos, cheese and vegetables. Delight in honey and jam. Rise to discover what brings us together. And this really brings a lot of memories back for me as well. Just thinking of all the places that we gathered to enjoy fry bread. All the things that you can make with it.

05:27 - A lot of places that I go make what we call Indian tacos and so it’s a taco like the regular ingredients you would think of like the beef or the lettuce and all the toppings that you put on it but it is on a piece of fried bread and it is delicious. So as you think about some of the recipes or the things that your family cooks together and just the comfort that that brings and the sights and smells that come with it. That’s really what this book is trying to bring up as well. And finally, fry bread is time. On weekdays and holidays, supper or dinner, powwows and festivals. Moments together with family and friends. And I know a lot of us are missing time together with family and friends and gathering over meals and the types of things that we would usually do.

06:18 - But we are going to eventually get back to that as long as we keep masking up and washing our hands and doing all the things that are necessary. But when I think of family meals together and the types of things that come with that it is really just heartwarming. And so think of those times, good memories, we can continue building on those and as we’re rolling into the, into the holidays this brings up a lot of memories for me as well. And so we can think back to those times when we gathered together. And so I want you to also think about what food brings and how you gather as a family around the table, what types of food you enjoy having together and just all those things that, that bring us together in order to enjoy each other. And we can continue that.

And so Super Readers, 07:02 - I have a reading mission for you. I want you to finish the book on your own to see how it ends. This book and others that we will share with you in a moment can be found at your school library, your local library, or online through Library Link which can be accessed using your student I.D. I’ll be back next month with another great book to share with you all. Until tell then, keep on reading Super Readers! Enjoy Fry Bread and ready for more? Here’s some other great books by Native authors for elementary school Super Readers: How Raven Stole The Sun by Maria Williams. The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson. The Star People by S.D. Nelson.

07:45 - And for you more advanced Super Readers, An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese. Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Apple In The Middle by Dawn Quigley. Visit the Native Indian Resource Library online at seattleschools.org/nativeedlibrary. Each month go to seattleschools.org/superreads for more great book titles. Your school librarian can help you find these books at your school library or at the curbside pick up. Seattle Public School students can access the Seattle Public School library book catalog online. Visit spl.org/librarylink to learn more. .