Discover the joy of reading with Book Clubs and Book Fairs
Discover the joy of reading with Book Clubs and Book Fairs
In June, we celebrate National Indigenous History Month to recognize and honour the rich history, heritage, resilience, and diversity of Indigenous peoples. You can explore Reading Club’s National Indigenous History month collection here.
By Celina Kalluk and Illustrated By Alexandria Neonakis
Picture Book
Ages 4 to 7, Grades PreK to 1
“Dream a little, Kulu, this world now sings a most beautiful song of you.”
This beautiful bedtime poem, written by acclaimed Inuit throat singer Celina Kalluk, describes the gifts given to a newborn baby by all the animals of the Arctic.
Lyrically and tenderly told by a mother speaking to her own little Kulu; an Inuktitut term of endearment often bestowed upon babies and young children, this visually stunning book is infused with the traditional Inuit values of love and respect for the land and its animal inhabitants.
By Nadia Sammurtok and Illustrated By Pelin Turgut
Picture Book
Ages 4 to 7, Grades K to 2
Panik, do you know how much I love you? When I look at the horizon, past the vast tundra, I see no end. That is how much I love you.
In this lovingly told book, a mother recounts for her daughter all the things she loves about her, connecting each attribute to an element of the Arctic landscape or Inuit traditional life. As her daughter’s eyes glisten like the fire of a seal oil lamp, and her courage shines bright like buds of purple saxifrage fighting through a thick blanket of snow, the mother weaves a beautiful narrative of connection and love that will warm the hearts of all readers.
By Sunshine Quem Tenasco and Illustrated By Chief Lady Bird
Picture Book
Ages 5 to 7, Grade K to 2
A magical mirror helps a young girl understand her true beauty in this new picture book from the creators of Nibi’s Water Song.
When Challa comes home in tears after being teased about her smile, her mom gives her a special gift. It’s a magic mirror, shiny, beaded and beautiful, passed on from her mom, and from her djo djo before her. Challa’s mom tells her that when anyone looks into the mirror, they will see their true self. There’s just one rule: Everyone has to say what they see in the reflection.
This special story, from award-winning activist Sunshine Quem Tenasco and artist Chief Lady Bird, introduces readers to concepts of self-acceptance, self-empowerment, and recognition of the unique beauty that comes from within.
By David A. Robertson Illustrated By Julie Flett
Picture Book
Ages 4 to 9, Grades K to 3
A picture book celebrating Indigenous culture and traditions. The Governor General Award-winning team behind When We Were Alone shares a story that honours our connections to our past and our grandfathers and fathers.
A heartfelt story about memory, imagination, and intergenerational connection that perfectly captures the experience of a young child’s wonder as he is introduced to places and stories that hold meaning for his family.
By Joanne Roberton
Picture Book
Ages 5 to 9, Grades K to 3
An Ojibwe Grandmother walks to raise awareness of protecting our water for all life on the planet.
The story of a determined Ojibwe Grandmother (Nokomis), Josephine Mandamin, and her great love for Nibi (water). Nokomis walks to raise awareness of our need to protect Nibi for future generations, and for all life on the planet. She, along with other women, men, and youth, have walked around all the Great Lakes from the four salt waters, or oceans, to Lake Superior. The walks are full of challenges, and by her example Josephine invites us all to take up our responsibility to protect our water, the giver of life, and to protect our planet for all generations.
By Jenny Kay Dupis and Kathy Kacer; Illustrated By Gillian Newland
Picture Book
Ages 9 to 13, Grade 4 to 7
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her. When she goes home for summer holidays, Irene’s parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But where will they hide? And what will happen when her parents disobey the law?
Based on the life of co-author Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, I Am Not a Number is a hugely necessary book that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to.
By Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton; Illustrated By Liz Amini-Holmes
Illustrated Novel
Ages 10 to 14, Grades 4 to 8
The powerful memoir of an Inuvialuit girl searching for her true self when she returns from residential school. Highlighted by archival photos and striking artwork, this first-person account of a young girl’s struggle to find her place will inspire young readers to ask what it means to belong.
Traveling to be reunited with her family in the Arctic, 10-year-old Margaret Pokiak can hardly contain her excitement. It’s been two years since her parents delivered her to the school run by the dark-cloaked nuns and brothers.
Coming ashore, Margaret spots her family, but her mother barely recognizes her, screaming, “Not my girl.” Margaret realizes she is now marked as an outsider. And Margaret is an outsider: she has forgotten the language and stories of her people, and she can’t even stomach the food her mother prepares.
However, Margaret gradually relearns her language and her family’s way of living. Along the way, she discovers how important it is to remain true to the ways of her people…and to herself.
By Melanie Florence and Richard Scrimger
Middle Grade
Ages 11 to 14, Grades 5 to 8
Returning home from a movie one evening, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house. All Cody knows is that he can’t take another beating from his father like the one he just narrowly escaped. He can’t go home, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go either. Autumn won’t turn her back on him, even if they never really were friends at school. She agrees to let him hide out in her dad’s art studio at night.
Over the next couple of days of Autumn sneaking Cody food and bandages, his story comes out. And so does hers.
By Shirley Sterling
Novel
Ages 12 to 13, Grades 7 to 8
An honest, inside look at life in an Indian residential school in the 1950s, and how one indomitable young spirit survived it.
At six years old, Seepeetza is taken from her happy family life on Joyaska Ranch to live as a boarder at the Kalamak Indian Residential School. Life at the school is not easy, but Seepeetza still manages to find some bright spots. Always, thoughts of home make her school life bearable.
By David A. Robertson
Novel
Ages 12 to 14, Grades 6 to 8
Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson.
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home, until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive.
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