A guide to the wonderful Friendship Centres the best North American cities have for the Indigenous people finding themselves away from home. They would miss the smells, the company, the drumming, language and culture, and it's all there in those centres – including kitchens, classrooms and space for other activities and, well, friendship.

The thing here is that I don't know what the intended audience is – an adult needing such a centre will know this, and a child needing this, say if they're forced to migrate to the city for a parent's work or medical care, will be shown around their specific venue at a proper induction. Seeing Matthew go round this one – and this is very pictorial, with the dense-seeming text on coloured background always accompanied by a picture somewhere on the spread – he looks an older teen, and several years advanced of the person this seems written for. This then seems to be stuck in a place where it doesn't have an appropriate Indigenous audience – leaving perhaps the rest of us as the intended readers; these venues clearly are things to boast about, after all.

This picturebook tells the story of a boy named Matthew who is going with his uncle Hunter, an elder, to a friendship centre for the first time. Through the story the readers are introduced to the importance of community, especially for Indigenous people living in big cities. Some of the cultural practices that are covered include sage and smudging, medicine wheel and drumming. It also introduces readers to the other services that can be at friendship centres like healthcare and gyms. I love that this book explores Indigenous culture and community while also showing the importance of friendship centres and the value that they have in communities. I could definitely see having a copy of this book in my classroom library and using it as part of discussions around community buildings and Indigenous governance. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

Urban Indigenous communities across Turtle Island almost always have some version of a Friendship Centre for their community to gather at. They become community hubs for cultural events, community meals, and assist community members access resources within the larger urban area. I think this is a nice introduction to these places both for Indigenous peoples who may not have interacted with them and for non-Indigenous peoples as they learn more about the urban community around them.

It’s an ok book.

It’s obviously geared towards kids, but I can’t tell which age demographic so I am unsure of who to recommend this to. The language and cultural dump is more like 4/5th graders, but there is something about this book that also screams 2nd/3rd graders readers.

Probably an ok book for school librarians for Native American Heritage Month, I just don’t know what age group you would aim at for your curriculum.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts expressed are my own

'The Friendship Centre' is a fun and informative introduction to urban centres for Indigenous people. In the book, we follow a young boy named Matthew as he meets up with his uncle Hunter, who works at The Friendship Centre. We learn, as Matthew does, that the centre does an incredible amount of good work for Indigenous folks looking for community, including maintaining health care resources, a gym, various classes (including those teaching Indigenous languages), drumming groups, and more! I hadn't actually heard of formal centres like these, so it was really awesome to learn about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.