Smile So Big

Written by Sunshine Quem Tenasco

Illustrated by Chief Lady Bird

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-8767-1

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

March 2023

Most of us, adult and child alike, will see something less than perfect in our appearance: too wide, too short, too white, too dark, nose or teeth too big, eyes too widely-spaced. There’s always seems to something that we see that others may or may not. How to see the truth?

From Smile So Big by Sunshine Quem Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

Challa has a big, toothy smile and when she gets teased about it, her mom reassures her and shows Challa a beautiful mirror with a thunderbird design and fringe. Her mother tells her that this family heirloom would show the holder's true self, but the rule was that they "had to say what they saw in the reflection." Challa looks into the mirror and sees all her attributes and says, "I'm smiling so big. I sure do look cute." With that, the beads around the mirror light up. Challa is delighted.

From Smile So Big by Sunshine Quem Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

When she shows her friend Neebin, who was always being teased about his long hair, Challa notices how he smiles and looks so cute when looking in the mirror. When he acknowledges aloud that he loves his long braid hair, not only do the beads light up, but the whole playground shakes and sparkles with magic! The same happens when her cousin Keggy recognizes how much she loves her dark skin and the house shakes and sparkles as it's enveloped in the magic of the thunderbird. When her friend Kiniw sees his own beauty and accepts his small size, the magic is revealed again.

From Smile So Big by Sunshine Quem Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

Challa is perplexed why she only saw the beads light up, not the magic that came with it. She tries again to acknowledge her eyes, her nose, her hair, and her dimple but the magic doesn't appear until she feels and expresses real love for her smile.

Sunshine Quem Tenasco, Anishinaabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, brings young readers to an Indigenous community and yet the story she tells will be understood by all of us who may be teased, or worse, about some aspect of our physical nature. With a little help from a magic mirror and the support of those who love us and came before us, we can all see, accept, and appreciate who we really are. Whether there's a magical mirror in your life or not, there are those who help you see the beauty within and those people, whether in our lives now or gone already, are our greatest champions. It's not because of validating who we are; it's because they reflect who we are through their love. Sunshine Quem Tenasco's dedication includes the following words: "To all the Indigenous kids on Turtle Island and to all the boys with braids, you are so loved. You are important. You are powerful." Her words lift those to whom she has dedicated her book but also to every child who has the good fortune to read this picture book.

Chief Lady Bird, a Chippewa and Potawatomi artist who collaborated with Sunshine Quem Tenasco on Nibi's Water Song (2019), gives us both the realism and the magic in her illustrations. The boldness of her colour and shapes impress with their power of message about beauty and self, encouragement, and heritage. Chief Lady Bird gives life and context to Sunshine Quem Tenasco's words, and together Smile So Big is as enchanting as it is grounded.

For every smile hidden because of unease, and for every cruel teasing endured, Smile So Big gives young readers the courage to see their beauty as reflected in their own mirrors, magical or not, as held by themselves and those who love them.