Book review: Counting at Kits Beach

Reviewed by Alex Hebert

Kitsilano Beach (Kits Beach) is a popular beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, located at the north edge of the neighbourhood of Kitsilano. Kitsilano is named after Squamish Chief August Jack Khatsahlano. It’s the traditional territory of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh. All three nations used the shared territory for fishing, hunting, trapping, and harvesting.

By 1911, the tribes were forced to be relocated to various reserves. The federal government had isolated the First Nation population on small parcels of land in other areas of the province. The Kitsilano area is now mostly residential with two commercial areas and the beach.

Counting at Kits Beach is a very cute board book for readers aged 3-6. Board books are fun because it is a good way to capture baby teeth impressions. Didn’t we all chew on board books?

What’s fun about this counting book is it starts at 10 and works its way to one. Bit of a plot twist. And what’s more exciting is that there are questions at the end for the reader to go back and answer, which are based on the colourful and vibrant illustrations.

The illustrations capture the activities and wildlife of the beach. Author and illustrator Oliver Moss Warawa McDonald writes at the beginning of the book: The beings in this book have been cared for since time immemorial. Kits Beach, and everything in the land, air and water is the unceded, unextinguished, traditional territory of the hań q amińarh speaking x”maük”aŷ am, the Skwxwúʔmesh, and the Salilwatat. When you look at the beings of Kits Beach, remember the stewardship and history of the host nations.

The author lives in North Vancouver, B.C. and is a member of the Peguis Nation. He is a Cree person and was raised on the west coast. His beautiful, engaging art is a mix of west coast style and his Cree heritage.

I love the journey the author takes the reader on. It’s important for children of all ages to be present and observant on a beach. One just never knows what treasures they will find if they just look.

Oliver Moss Warawa McDonald, Counting at Kits Beach. Kegedonce Press: Owen Sound, 2024.

ISBN: 978-1-928120-43-8