Rez Kid

Written by Andrea Landry

Illustrated by Isabelle Fassler

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1125-3

32 pp.

Ages 4–7

September 2025 

 

When kids shout out labels or taunts that are meant to hurt or to expose personal vulnerabilities such as poverty or physical appearance, it can be to bully and demean. But, though taunts of "Rez Kid" on the school bus are hurtful, the main character in Andrea Landry and Isabella Fassler's picture book focuses on what living on the reserve means to her and how she can help others understand what being a rez kid is like.

From Rez Kid, written by Andrea Landry, illustrated by Isabella Fassler

Being singled out as a rez kid makes this child's heart sink as she makes her way to the back of the school bus to return home at the end of the school day. But as the bus gets closer to home, her spirits are lifted. For her, being home on the rez means being with her mom and beading together. It's the smell of sweetgrass and sage.

From Rez Kid, written by Andrea Landry, illustrated by Isabella Fassler

It's picking sage, porcupine root and dandelion for medicine with her Nóhkom. It's riding horses with her Moshum. It's enjoying tea with her aunty and harvesting vegetables out of the garden. And it's listening to their wise suggestions about how to deal with the name calling. They suggest she show the other kids how to be kind, how to learn something new, how to be confident, and how to be generous. With every heartfelt interaction with her family and her own kindheartedness—she prays for those with hard hearts—this child turns taunts into understanding and appreciation.

From Rez Kid, written by Andrea Landry, illustrated by Isabella Fassler

Though the verbal jabs at the child are meant to hurt, she is able to be mindful about seeing beyond the bus ride and embrace the rez as a place that she loves. It is a place of trees, lakes and land, and it is one of family and love. This child knows what goodness is in her life by virtue of life on the rez but, in order to resolve the bullying she endures, she must help others see it too. By recognizing that their ignorance is the root of the bullying, she invites them to visit with her and her family on the rez to see the wonderful life she has there. 

I show them the home of my ancestors.

The home of my family.

I show them the beads,

the medicines,

the horses,

the vegetables from my aunty's garden.

My home.

Andrea Landry, an Anishinaabe who now lives on Poundmaker Cree Nation, shares some background into reserves (or reservations as they are called in the U.S.), including the challenges endured because of broken promises by settler governments. But, as she does in Rez Kid, Andrea Landry focuses on the communities that Indigenous families are creating despite these difficulties, and invites readers, like the child does to her bus mates, to see the rez not as a less-than-favourable place but as a home of heritage and compassion. The rez is not a place of less but a place of different and more.

From Rez Kid, written by Andrea Landry, illustrated by Isabella Fassler

While the school bus ride has some cruel moments, Toronto's Isabella Fassler gives us the warmth of brightness in her artwork, rendered in pencil crayons and digitally finished.  And everywhere she incorporates elements important to Indigenous culture, whether it's the brightest of beads becoming flower earrings, a ribbon skirt, or the bannock that is shared. When Isabella Fassler lets the light of the child's pride in her rez home shine, even that dark bus is enlivened. From swirls of colours, stars and waves of flowers and plants, Isabella Fassler gives movement and spirit to rez life and those who make their homes there.

While I know that all schools will not enjoy the presence of rez kids, I hope that Rez Kid, the book, will start a discussion about different cultures, traditions, families and the understanding which we should all show those who are different than us. This child and others including Andrea Landry and her children see the good in living on a reserve. For any child, rez or not, who is lives differently, be proud. Your experiences are incomparable and that makes them all the more special, especially when they abound in love and compassion.

Memory Stones

Written by Kathy Kacer
Illustrated by Hayley Lowe
Second Story Press
978-1-77260-421-4
24 pp.
Ages 6–8
September 2025

Kathy Kacer, award-winning author of historical novels and non-fiction as well as picture books, often embeds her stories in the Holocaust. Being the daughter of Holocaust survivors, her stories reflect the courage and trauma of this genocide and its generational impact. In Memory Stones, her latest picture book, which is illustrated by Vancouver’s Hayley Lowe, Kathy Kacer again entwines multiple generations and shows how a child honours a special intergenerational relationship after her grandmother is gone.

From Memory Stones, written by Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Hayley Lowe

“Sophie loved her granny more than she loved stars or books or her hamster.” With this opening line, Kathy Kacer introduces readers to the meaningful ways Sophie and her grandmother spend time together: going to the ice cream parlour, swinging on swings in the park, skipping stones in the ravine, and tending to a vegetable garden. But when her grandmother dies, Sophie is dismayed to see how the flowers she takes to the cemetery wilt and fade so quickly. Her mother tells her of the tradition of laying stones on the grave as a message to the angels that the person buried there is remembered. Sophie takes that tradition and adapts it to reflect the personal attachment she had with her granny.

From Memory Stones, written by Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Hayley Lowe

For many children, the first death they may experience is that of a grandparent. If it’s a grandparent with whom they’ve had a special bond, as Sophie did with her granny, it can be especially distressing. Kathy Kacer ensures that this connection is recognized by Sophie’s mother who gives the child the opportunity to express her grief as she chooses. By guiding her while encouraging her to make it personal, Kathy Kacer has provided a template on how to help a child through their grief. While the death of a grandparent is often tied up with heartache, illustrator Hayley Lowe uses pencil, gouache and digital tools in subdued but heartfelt colours to blend the sombreness of bereavement with the memories of pleasure derived from a special relationship.

From Memory Stones, written by Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Hayley Lowe

For children who will experience a loss, Memory Stones will reassure them that they can be empowered to make personal choices that may offer comfort and even uplift, whether with the placement of memory stones or with reminiscing about cherished moments.

Little Moons

Written by Jen Storm

Illustrated by Ryan Howe

Coloured by Alice RL

Lettered by Nickolej Villiger

HighWater Press

978-1-774921074

64 pp.

Ages 12–18

September 2024

 

Little Moons is a story of great loss. It's also a story of family and connection, even after loss. Sadly, it's also a story based too much in reality.

From Little Moons, written by Jen Storm, illustrated by Ryan Howe, coloured by Alice RL, lettered by Nickolej Villiger

Reena lives on the reserve with her mom, Andrea, 15-year-old sister Chelsea, young brother Theo and grandmother Koko. The kids' dad, Anthony, also lives there though Mom and Dad are not together anymore. Mom works tirelessly at traditional bead work which Chelsea learned to do, beading her own regalia after her woman's ceremony. 

 

And then Chelsea does not return from going shopping after school. Even with a community helping in the search and getting news out via social media and with involvement of the police, she is not found. The seasons come and go and still no Chelsea. 

From Little Moons, written by Jen Storm, illustrated by Ryan Howe, coloured by Alice RL, lettered by Nickolej Villiger

But what changes is the family. While Reena tries to connect with Chelsea, wearing her regalia to a Pow Wow, beading, and watching flickering lights that may mean Chelsea's spirit is around, Mom has gone beyond her depression and has headed to the city. First, it's just for a break but then she decides to move there. 

"I don't want to live and die on the Rez." (p. 23)

From Little Moons, written by Jen Storm, illustrated by Ryan Howe, coloured by Alice RL, lettered by Nickolej Villiger

Mom may think this will work to alleviate her grief, meeting new people, getting a non-Indigenous boyfriend–who is both a jerk and racist–and getting a job away from the Rez but Dad convinces her to let the kids remain with him. And Theo reveals to Reena that he sees ghosts that look like little moons, and that "Sister" has told him that she's sorry.

When Chelsea's bag is found buried in the forest near the highway, the family finds a way to connect with each other and to follow their traditions "to light her way to the other side." (p. 52)

From Little Moons, written by Jen Storm, illustrated by Ryan Howe, coloured by Alice RL, lettered by Nickolej Villiger

Little Moons may be another story of another missing or murdered Indigenous woman but it's not just another story. Jen Storm, an Ojibwe writer from Couchiching First Nation, has put her own experiences with a loved one who went missing and was later found dead into her story. She witnessed the range of expressions of grief and guilt and coping that family and friends showed. Most just do their best with what they have available and with what is familiar. Running away, looking for answers, insulating from others, these are just some ways, and Jen Storm does not judge. She just shows what it can be like. But she always shows that there is solace in spirituality and in traditions. Theo, based on Jen Storm's own son, is reassured when he connects with Chelsea who approaches him via his toys and the orbs that he sees. Reena buries medicine pouches, burning her cut braid in the sacred fire, and more. We all know there is no one way to grieve but it all changes when it is a missing and then presumed murdered Indigenous woman. Connecting with their sacred traditions and each other worked for this family.

From Little Moons, written by Jen Storm, illustrated by Ryan Howe, coloured by Alice RL, lettered by Nickolej Villiger

A lot of talent went into the creation of the graphics for Jen Storm's story. Saskatoon's Ryan Howe has created people and places that reflect the reserve on which this family resides, as well as the city to which Andrea moves. He gives us a family of a wise elder, a young and playful child, a forlorn Reena, and a restless Andrea, as well as a present but reserved Anthony. We see a community that sits around a fire but will take to social media when needed. He's given us the traditional and the urban, and his concepts of people and place evoke both the familiar and the less familiar. Ryan Howe's artwork is brought to life by the colouring of Alice RL, a non-binary Ojibwe artist living in Winnipeg, and the lettering of comic book artist and illustrator Nickolej Villiger of Lethbridge. Without these, the book would not be the graphic novel that is both heartrending and uplifting. There is no happy ending but there is still family and traditions that bind and elevate.

The Hawk Shadow

Written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose

Illustrated by Karlene Harvey

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1084

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2024

 

When Serenity's older brother, Big Ed, decides to go fishing with his shiny new store-bought rod, she tags along with the hand-made one of spruce and moose sinew that her father has given her. But, though Big Ed is focused on the fishing he will do, Serenity's focus is elsewhere.

From The Hawk Shadow, written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Karlene Harvey

As the two head out along Big Ed's fishing path to the river, Serenity revels in all the wonders of the natural world, from the sun and the singing robin, to a raven and some chokecherries. Big Ed may walk faster than Serenity but, even as she dawdles, he watches out for her. He also teaches her about their cultural beliefs from why the river is called Hawk River, the value of the cedar tree, and more.

From The Hawk Shadow, written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Karlene Harvey

But when they start fishing and Serenity is distracted by a Red-Tailed Hawk that circles around her, and then leaves and returns, she realizes that he wants her to follow him. Fortunately, she does and finds that a little sister's help is needed.

From The Hawk Shadow, written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Karlene Harvey

It's always a treat to read a Jan Bourdeau Waboose picture book. It's been far too long since her The Spirit Trackers (illustrated by François Thisdale) and it's lovely to revisit a sibling relationship that is embedded in an Indigenous community. The Hawk Shadow may be considered an Indigenous story–Jan Bourdeau Waboose is First Nation Anishinaabe of the Ojibway Bear Clan–but it also speaks to the interactions of an older brother and younger sister, an appreciation for the natural world, and a mindfulness to it and the messages within. Serenity is like her brother's shadow, following him, listening to his teachings, asking him questions, and ultimately freeing him from a dangerous situation. If she hadn't been mindful of him and of her surroundings, including listening to the Hawk, the siblings' outing may have had a far worse outcome. Jan Bourdeau Waboose shows us that even though  Serenity is watching and listening to everything around her, and is ostensibly distracted from her brother's words and quicker step, she is fully engaged. It's a lesson in being wholly present in place and with people.

Karlene Harvey, who has illustrated several other picture books including Melanie Florence's Kaiah's Garden, is a Tsilhqot'in and Syilx illustrator who respects the Indigenous basis for the story without highlighting any of the major styles such as the Woodland Style.  The realism of the Hawk's morphology is blended with the bold and the bright of the characters as they journey and fish but Karlene Harvey still adds light touches to remind readers of the community from which Big Ed and Serenity were born. In addition to the glorious end papers of beaded flowers, there's Big Ed's beaded bear paw medallion necklace and the bead work on Serenity's collar.

From The Hawk Shadow, written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Karlene Harvey

Here's to listening, seeing, and being a part of something, whether it be a sibling relationship, the natural world, or a community. There is always much to learn and appreciate, even from the shadows.

Misadventures in Ghosthunting

Written by Melissa Yue

HarperCollins

978-1-4434-7091-9

367 pp.

Ages 8-12

Releases August 27, 2024

 

Life had done nothing to prepare me for what to do if a ghost was trying to burn your house down. Even worse, I'd got no advice on what to do if your entire family didn't believe you could see ghosts but Grandma snuck you protective talismans like it was a black market dealing. (p. 19)

Emma Wong thought her greatest worry was the D she got on her Grade 9 math exam. But when a ghost of a young man shows up, calling her Lin Wai–her Chinese name is actually Yan Ling–and threatening to expose her exam if she didn't go with him, things get a little dicey. When she doesn't, Ghost Boy uses a calligraphy brush to write something in the air and starts a fire on the family's ancestral altar. She tells her family about the ghost-like boy but, for a family who doesn't believe in ghosts, she gets no support. Fortunately, best friend Michelle Zhang knows that Emma can see ghosts and wants to help. 

 

It's also fortunate–or is it?–that Emma meets Leon, a boy in a long peacoat with a messenger bag who claims to be a guardian whose job it is to help maintain stability in the world by monitoring ghosts in the Mortal Realm and he's there to help her. He confirms that she has the Sight i.e., the ability to sense ghosts, seeing them and getting physical sensations like headaches and nausea when they are near. He warns her about geoi hau gwai or hungry ghosts who were ungenerous mortals who search the Mortal Realm for offerings to sustain themselves. When Ghost Boy returns–his name is Henry–Emma unwittingly sends him back to the Underworld by striking him with a paper talisman her Mah Mah had always given her. Surprisingly Leon confirms that Emma is using a ghosthunting tool. 

Emma is so confused. Her family does not believe in ghosts and yet her grandmother always gave her protective talismans to ward off evil at entrances to buildings. Now she has Leon who is trying to protect her from Henry, a ghost hunter of the Underworld who works for one the Ten Lords there and whose job it is to rein in unruly ghosts who cause trouble. But why pick on Emma?

With Leon's protection and direction, Emma learns more about her family history and her own abilities, all with the objective of helping her much-loved grandmother and ultimately making things right for spirits in the Underworld.

 

I wish I could tell you everything that happens in Melissa Yue's debut novel but Misadventures in Ghosthunting is a big story. It's a story of family, familial expectations, and a grandmother-granddaughter relationship. It's one of Chinese culture and superstitions and the Ghost Festival and magic and glorious food. It's one of history, including a love story. And it's about making things right, even when you aren't responsible for making them wrong. Oh, and there's a splattering of robotics too. As I said, it's a big story, with layers in the present and in the past, in the Mortal Realm and in the Underworld, in the mundane teen world of school and parental expectations and in one of needle-mouth ghosts and immortals. And Melissa Yue tells it with humour, cultural respect, and familial devotion. 

A family is built from shared memories. (p. 342)

Through all her characters, mortal and not, Melissa Yue embeds us in their stories, finding goodness in some that might appear evil and flaws in some that are generally good. All her characters are fully developed. They make mistakes, take chances, have weakness and lack in confidence. They also do their jobs, even unusual ones, make connections with others, have pasts, and always look for something more. They are human, even if they're immortal.

 

It's hard to parse out everything in Misadventures in Ghosthunting because there is so much but Melissa Yue gives middle-grade readers a story that is full and intricate with characters and subplots and history and that little bit of magic. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, you'll cheer for Emma and her allies in their attempts at righteousness and for the defeat of evil. I don't know if anyone was celebrating the Ghost Festival just over a week ago but honouring the dead with offerings sounds like a wise rite to observe, especially when the consequences of not doing so could be overwhelming. Emma knows.

• • • • • • •

 

Look for my interview with author Melissa Yue tomorrow here on CanLit for LittleCanadians. She reveals much about her writing and the story, as well as some important background about the cultural traditions and framework used as a basis for Misadventures in Ghosthunting.

Hair Oil Magic

Written and illustrated by Anu Chouhan

Bloomsbury Children's Books

978-1-5476-1104-1

40 pp.

Ages 3-6

February 2024

 

Most of us love learning about cultural practices and traditions that may be familiar and commonplace to others. The ancient and routine practice of hair oiling, while customary in some places in the world and more popular in some societies, is becoming more of a thing elsewhere. Still, a story like Hair Oil Magic doesn't just educate readers about these traditional rites. It also reminds us of the connections that are the basis for them.

From Hair Oil Magic, written and illustrated by Anu Chouhan

For Meenu, Sunday is "Magic Hair Day." It is the day that her mother, like her grandmother once did, would mix a wonderfully-scented concoction and massage it into Meenu's scalp. Then Meenu would go on with her day, playing and helping her Biji (Punjabi for grandmother), until bath time when Mommy washed her hair with a special shampoo.

From Hair Oil Magic, written and illustrated by Anu Chouhan

She loved the way her hair felt and bounced at the end of the day but most of all she loved how she felt as she sat in Mommy's lap and had her scalp massaged.

It was like little floating stars

twinkling around her heart!

Not surprising that little Meenu wants to recreate that feeling and impress Mommy and Biji by making her own magic oil, recalling what her mother telling her about fenugreek oil and rosemary and castor oil and more. And so, in bathroom, accompanied by her dog, Meenu begins to pour and mix but she can't quite get the formulation right. After a few mishaps, resulting in a broken bottle, tears, and a fresh bath, Meenu learns the true secret ingredient of their Magic Hair Days.

From Hair Oil Magic, written and illustrated by Anu Chouhan

Anu Chouhan has illustrated several picture books, including Bharatanatyam in Ballet Shoes and A Dupatta Is..., and created art for video games, but this is her debut picture book as the author-illustrator. This Punjabi-Canadian creator knows this story from her heart and speaks to the connection in her "Author's Note." (She also includes "Meenu's Magic Hair Day Tips" as she learned as a child.) The physical benefits of hair oiling are tangible but the emotional bonding that happens between family members as the hair is oiled is even deeper. Anu Chouhan expresses the kinship that comes with this tradition as magic, and her digital illustrations certainly give readers that enchanted vibe. With sparkles and smiles, and tender embraces and swirls of charming alchemy, Anu Chouhan lets us see the magic that surrounds the family as they maintain their traditions and connect with each other through sweet-scented oils, touch, and affection.

 

Drawing on her Punjabi ancestry, I suspect Anu Chouhan has more stories to tell. Fortunately, as an accomplished artist, she is perfectly placed to give colour and heart to those stories and enlighten some young readers and connect with others who already have found the magic in hair oiling.

The Tray of Togetherness

Written and illustrated by Flo Leung

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-462-7

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

November 2022 

While one part of the world has just celebrated the shift of the year from 2022 to 2023, another community will be preparing for the Lunar New Year on January 22. Across Asia and Asian diaspora globally, preparations are being made to ensure an advantageous Chinese New Year. There will be cleaning of households, purchasing of new clothes and fireworks, decorating with red lanterns and more, and, finally, the preparing of food for a multi-generational family dinner. And part of that meal will  be a tray of togetherness, a platter of sweets that carries tradition, good wishes and hospitality. 

From The Tray of Togetherness by  Flo Leung

With the arrival of her grandmother, a child knows it's time to start getting ready for the new year's party to celebrate the "new moon that begins each brand-new year." But first, they must head out to the shops to buy all the goodies to fill their tray of eight sections, a lucky number that "means our happiness will grow and grow." Each purchase is selected with care and meaning. From the candied winter melon for good health, candies for a sweet life and the pistachios for happiness, delectables are procured so that they might be shared along with good wishes.

From The Tray of Togetherness by  Flo Leung

Then the child and her family share those treats and accompanying good wishes with others, including at a red-festooned New Year party that brings family together both in person and virtually to celebrate.

Whether you are a young reader whose family will be celebrating the Lunar New Year or a teacher or parent who wants to use this new year as a teachable moment about heritage and diversity of celebrations, The Tray of Togetherness will foster a fellowship of understanding and appreciation. This may be Toronto illustrator Flo Leung's first picture book, but she knows food, she knows art, and she knows her family's traditions. Together she has created an explosion of brightness and comfort in her words and her illustrations and informs about traditions for the Lunar New Year. There is a warmth in her colours, with red, orange and gold emphasized throughout, and an invitation to share in the family's festivities and good fortune. Flo Leung, who specializes in food and culinary illustration, knows how to create enticing food images, whether in the form of a market stall, a tray of sweets or a bowl of fruit. But it's her people who welcome us into their world to bask in their conviviality and intimacy of familial celebration.

From The Tray of Togetherness by Flo Leung

Whether your family is celebrating the Lunar New Year with family and your own tray of togetherness or with a reading of The Tray of Togetherness, I wish you happiness and bounty for the new year.

kā-āciwīkicik / The Move

Written by Doris George and Don K. Philpot

Illustrated by Alyssa Koski

Heritage House

978-1-77203-409-7

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

May 2022

The story of kā-āciwīkicik or The Move, a dual-language picture book, begins with an elderly Cree couple looking out from their new house in a rocky barren land, having moved from their old place beside a river close to a lake, land covered with trees, and brush and meadows. As upset as the old woman is in having to leave so much behind, her husband tells her that "There's nothing we can do to change things".  But he's wrong.

 

From kā-āciwīkicik / The Move by Doris George and Don K. Philpot, illus. by Alyssa Koski

Recalling the belief of her grandmother, a diviner, that the spirits would extend help when asked, the old woman first wishes for some trees so that she might have wood to smoke her fish and moose hides. With that, a group of black ash appear and root themselves in the yard. Consequently, the old man gathers some old wood and, in addition to making a smudge, starts a fire for his wife's drying racks.

From kā-āciwīkicik / The Move by Doris George and Don K. Philpot, illus. by Alyssa Koski

When the couple's daughter and two grandchildren come to visit, they reminisce about the old songs, and their activities like making maple sugar candy and weaving baskets from birch bark. With a wish, maple and birch trees then appear, along with spruce, and the elderly couple get to work tapping the trees and boiling sap, as well as cutting strips of bark and gathering roots for baskets. Moreover they can now share with their grandchildren the skills of those springtime activities.

When summer comes and the old woman remembers picking saskatoon berries for bannock and winter storage, she laments how far away they are from the berries now. With a clap of thunder and a heave of the ground, a trail appears and saskatoon berries materialize everywhere. It is finally then that the old woman looks out over their new home and land, and recognizes that, "It's good here."

From kā-āciwīkicik / The Move by Doris George and Don K. Philpot, illus. by Alyssa Koski

Though there are supernatural elements to Doris George and Don K. Philpot's story, it is a story rooted in reality and history. Their "Authors' Note" recalls the building of a dam in northern Manitoba in the early 1960s and the relocation of the Chemawawin Cree Nation from ancestral lands. It's the contrast of the old with the new but also the establishment of a new familiarity that is significant. What the Cree couple leave behind is tradition, family, culture and home. But, they are able to re-establish all, with a little spiritual assistance, to continue providing for themselves and others and build a new life. While the disruption caused by forced relocations is very real, authors Doris George and Don K. Philpot emphasize that the quality of life travels with the couple. With their resilience, they make it work.  

Alyssa Koski of Kainai Nation transitions the couple from the greyness of their stark new land to its promise. She gives us contemplation in the old woman's face, purpose in their activities, and hope in the lushness of the new greenness. By juxtaposing the real with the unreal, Alyssa Koski takes us into Doris George and Don K. Philpot's First Nation experience story of ancestry, upheaval and survival and, with colour and shape, shows us the continuity that inspires and reassures.

Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew

Written by Susan Aglukark

Illustrated by Amiel Sandland and Rebecca Brook

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-433-2

36 pp.

Ages 5-7

June 2022

 

After Ukpik's father (ataata), uncle and cousin return from a hunting trip with five caribou, the child's mother enlists her help in preparing the furs for a special project. Though she doesn't know what the special project will be, Ukpik is delighted to be part of something that will include some beads (sunguajait) that her anaana had been saving.

From Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew by Susan Aglukark, illus. by Amiel Sandland and Rebecca Brook

First, Ukpik is told get the ulu her grandfather (ataatatsiaq) had made for her as she would help with the cleaning of the skins. She is instructed on how to remove incidental fat and how to be careful with the sharp tool. Later the skins are stretched out and pinned to the ground to dry.

From Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew by Susan Aglukark, illus. by Amiel Sandland and Rebecca Brook

 

As they wait for the skins to dry, Anaana allows Ukpik to work with the beads forming a pattern. After the skins are dry, Anaana teaches Ukpik how to soften the skins by tromping on them and also using a sakuut. 

For practise, Anaana cuts pieces according to a pattern for Ukpik and her friend Qopak to learn to sew mittens. When it becomes evident that the girls are becoming fatigued, Ukpik's anaana reminds her that:

You must begin your lessons now so you know how to do the right stitches for each pattern. The size and shape of the stitches matter, Ukpik, and to get these right, you must practise. (pg. 25)

From Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew by Susan Aglukark, illus. by Amiel Sandland and Rebecca Brook

It takes days of patience and meticulous work to prepare the skins so that they might be fashioned into clothing, and it's a skill that connects Ukpik and Anaana and others with their ancestors. Anaana and Ataata recognize that the world for Ukpik and her peers is changing (the earlier book Una Huna?: What is This? relates the introduction of new tools to the community from the south) but that skills like sewing and skin preparation are lines of kinship that will link them with their heritage forever.  

 

Author Susan Aglukark is perhaps best known as an award-winning Inuk singer-songwriter but her Una Huna? picture books take us to a northern Indigenous community in a different way, perhaps to see what growing up there might have been like for her. Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew reminds us that learning is happening constantly for children and especially for this Inuk child who wants to know and to discover all that she can. Una Huna? translates to "What is this?" and reflects Ukpik's inquisitive nature and desire to understand the nature of her people's ways of living while still being a kid who likes to play with her friends and puppy on the tundra. And, for most readers, Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew will be an introduction to traditional skills of the Inuit in addition to their language (a glossary with Inuktitut pronunciation guide is provided), making this picture book another culturally relevant book from Inhabit Media.

 

The illustrations by Amiel Sandland and Rebecca Brook are both playful and informative, striking the right balance for young readers who will learn but be entertained by the artwork. Amiel Sandland has always been astute at keeping the art simple enough for children to get the essentials of the details without overloading them with insignificant fluff. As such, the illustrations give us the starkness of the tundra and the straightforwardness of living as Inuit on the land while emphasizing an ancestry of significance.

 

Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew is an endearing recollection of the learning of traditional skills from a parent who is both patient, wise and loving.  It's about being at the crossroads of past and future, connecting to one's heritage but seeing what that might mean for later. It's a big story told skilfully with the essence of the Inuit at its core.

Stand Like a Cedar

Written by Nicola I. Campbell

Illustrated by Carrielynn Victor

HighWater Press

978-1-553799214

40 pp.

Ages 6-9

February 2021 

 

Let's take a walk, a canoe ride and more with these children of the Pacific Northwest as they honour their ancestors and show respect for the land and its living things. With occasional words in Halq’emeylem and Nłeʔkepmxcín (an extensive glossary is provided), two languages of the Coastal and Interior Salish, Nicola I. Campbell invites us all to join them to understand the importance of sustainability and gratitude as they experience life through the seasons.

From Stand Like a Cedar by Nicola I. Campbell, illus. by Carrielynn Victor

Stand Like a Cedar begins in the spring with a canoe ride in the rain, accompanied by ísweł (the loon).  Spring is also the time to forage for shoots and roots with the child's Yéye (grandmother) but summer arrives, warming the earth (tmíxw) and bringing out a snake (sméyxł) to sun. With late summer comes berry picking in alpine areas, fishing and hiking with the telling of stories.

We listened as our elders shared a song about our ancestors
when they traveled by horse and wagon,
and before that by travois and on moccasin-covered foot,
in search of traditional foods to nourish our families.

From Stand Like a Cedar by Nicola I. Campbell, illus. by Carrielynn Victor

Autumn brings hunting, handled delicately and solemnly.

Grandfather smíyc (deer) visited us. His summer coat was turning greyish-brown.
He shared a story about his descendants and family.
He explained that death is part of our life cycle.
He said to honour our tears as though they were stars in the sky.
He reminded us to take care of the land.

Winter arrives and the bears go into hibernation and the raven and eagle dance in the sky. With each endeavour, the children and their caregivers show gratitude: for the land, for the animals, for their ancestors, for all life.

From Stand Like a Cedar by Nicola I. Campbell, illus. by Carrielynn Victor

Nicola I. Campbell., a Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, and Métis author whose book Shin-chi's Canoe won the 2009 TD Canadian Children’s literature award and the 2008 Governor General's Award for Illustration, imbues her words with the gravitas of life in the natural world of the Pacific Northwest. There is a sense of dignity and solemnity in seasonal activities of berry picking and fishing, canoeing and hiking, with a recognition of the history of those who came before and those who tell the stories and teach. Her words are transportive to place and times both past and present.

Five kinds of salmon came to visit us.
They shared a story of when our great river was clean.
We could walk on the backs of a million spawning salmon.
Our nets were always full and our children never hungry.

But it's Nicola I. Campbell's final words that are most soulful, filled with gratitude and tribute.

We are Indigenous.
We love to run, paddle our canoes, dance, and play.
When we need to remember our promises,
we stand like cedar trees
hands raised to the sky.

Stó:lō artist Carrielynn Victor may illustrate Nicola I. Campbell's words, as an illustrator is directed to do, but her sense of place and atmosphere add more story. Read between the lines to see the joy of a child running up a trail, or a blueberry-covered face or a boy proud of his catch. There's the cool rain as the group canoes, the overcast skies and brilliant sunrises, and–look closely–the spirits of deer long gone but always honoured. Carrielynn Victor's art which is primarily digitally created gives us more, enlightening and celebrating too.

From Stand Like a Cedar by Nicola I. Campbell, illus. by Carrielynn Victor

Stand Like a Cedar is a strong song of peoples and place. It's emotive and instructive and begs us all to be attentive to how we interact with the land and its life. Gratitude should be the default, not the afterthought.

One Wild Christmas

Written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0203-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2019 

Nicholas Oldland's animal friends from his Life in the Wild series of picture books are back and this time the trio of friends are anticipating their favourite time of year and preparing for the finest celebration.

From One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

A beaver, a moose and a bear have their traditions which many children will recognize. There's the cooking of the food–check out the moose's apron that reads "I ❤️ X-Moose"– hanging the stockings, putting up lights, wrapping presents and getting a Christmas tree. Finding the right tree is not easy but they finally locate a beautiful pine. However, "the bear loved all living things, especially trees" and he was not going to let the beaver chop it down. When it becomes evident that moose and beaver are determined to have that perfect tree–there is quite a tussle!– the bear finds a solution, as suggested by a little cardinal, that allows the trio to celebrate the holiday without harming a living tree.

From One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

At this time of year, many families fortunate enough to have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with a tree must be considering their options. The choices would seem to be endless: fake or real, spruce or fir or pine, green or silver, cut or potted. Even within families, the discussions, nay arguments, can seem endless. Fortunately Nicholas Oldland's characters who are a family of their own find a way to enjoy a beautiful tree by taking their celebration to the wild, hence One Wild Christmas. 

From One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

The message about conservation and the natural world is charming, as are Nicholas Oldland's characters and whimsical settings. (Readers may recognize the artwork from the Hatley and Little Blue House apparel companies which are run by Nicholas Oldland and his brothers.) Simple in line and shape and even colour, his artwork, rendered in Photoshop, is uncluttered but natural and inviting while rustic, not unlike the pine the trio of friends discover. In the basic outdoorsy colours of brown, black and green with blue for the sky, Nicholas Oldland's setting reminds us that we are outside in the wild. Still, the only bird and a sled and Christmas accessories bring in the bright reds and colour to offset the organic world and bring a celebration of friendship, family and environment to life.

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Read about all the books in the Life in the Wild series at Kids Can Press here.

Life in the Wild series by Nicholas Oldland

Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe

Written by Henry Beaver and Mindy Willett
with Eileen Beaver

Photographs by Tessa Macintosh

Fifth House Publishers

978-1-92708352-9

34 pp.

Ages 9-12

May 2019

We can't tell you what to do with the truths we share in this book, but we hope that reading our story will help you get to know us a little better so that together we can make this nation a place we can all be proud of.

With his opening, Henry Beaver explains his intention for Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe. He and his wife Eileen Beaver live in Fort Smith, NWT and through time have taught their children and now their grandchildren about their culture and their ways.  Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe is an opportunity to teach others the same.

From Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett and Eileen Beaver, photos by Tessa Macintosh

With their grandchildren visiting, Henry Beaver and Eileen Beaver introduce them to a variety of activities, places and learning that comes from living where and as they and their ancestors have. There is the harvesting of salt from the Salt Plains, and trapping of the beaver as well as preparation of its hide and meat. Henry Beaver shows his grandchildren how to set up a mikiwawhp (tipi) and prepare a scared fire circle. As a retired educator, Eileen Beaver shares her teaching about the medicine wheel, smudging, sacred plants and storytelling including her telling of How the Female Moose Lost her Beautiful Antlers. 

From Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett and Eileen Beaver, photos by Tessa Macintosh

Amidst the richness of their activities and teachings, the authors also share details about the Salt Plains and Wood Buffalo National Park, the Nēhiyaw or Cree, and the Salt River First Nation, as well as including a glossary and short list of Cree words. Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe may only scratch the surface of the teachings that Henry Beaver and Eileen Beaver and other elders can and have shared with others but it's a wonderful introduction that places young readers into their culture. Co-authored by Mindy Willett, who has been integral to the whole The Land is Our Storybook series, and documented in photographs by Tessa Macintosh, Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe shows us the actuality of what it is to be Cree in the NWT and to live on the land.

Tapwe means "it is so" or "the truth" and so it is in this exemplary non-fiction book for young readers which will surely engage and educate.

From Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett and Eileen Beaver, photos by Tessa Macintosh

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The Land is Our Storybook series, which includes several in French translation, is a great starting point for teaching the culture of Indigenous peoples from a child's perspective. There are now nine titles in this series, written at an early reader-middle grade level and featuring photographs that take readers into the heart of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Indigenous communities in Canada.