Travis Zimmerman took a treasured family story, filled with traditional knowledge from the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and translated it onto the pages of a picture book.

“This story was actually handed down to me from my dad, who got it from his grandma,” Zimmerman said. “And he wrote these stories down, oh, probably about 50 years ago now. And I was moving a couple years ago, and I found the stories. And they were written in pencil, so they were starting to literally disappear from the pages.

Sam Zimmerman illustrated “How the Birds Got Their Songs.”

“It’s a beautiful story, and I just said yes because I can’t say no to my cousin,” Sam said.

The story goes that the Great Spirit challenges the birds to earn the prettiest song. One bird in particular outsmarts the others.

It is also translated into Ojibwe.

“Just like the importance of really capturing these stories and keeping these stories alive, it’s just as important to keep the Ojibwe language alive,” Travis Zimmerman said. “The Ojibwe language is an endangered language.”

It was released May 7, and there are two book events planned in the Northland:

• 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at Zenith Bookstore
• 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at Split Rock Lighthouse