Missing Nimâmâ

Synopsis:

A beautiful, transcendent story of a mother-daughter connection that persists through tragedy and across time.

Kateri is a young Cree girl, growing up in the care of her grandmother. We see her reaching important milestones: her first day of school, first dance, first date, wedding, first child. Her mother is absent, but not gone, watching her child growing up without her.

Told in alternating voices of child and mother, Missing Nimâmâ is a story of love, loss, and acceptance, showing the human side of a national tragedy. Dreamlike illustrations by François Thisdale enrich Kateri’s emotional journey. An afterword by the author provides a simple, age-appropriate context for young readers. Includes Cree words and glossary.

Reviews
"A free-verse intergenerational story of separation, loss, and daughter-mother connection amid the ongoing crisis of missing First Nations girls and women. . . On each page, Cree author Florence presents two narratives: Kateri's and her missing nimâmâ's. By juxtaposing the daughter's and mother's thoughts and feelings in complementary verse, Florence provides them the opportunity to experience life together from their respective points of view and to talk to each other from a distance. Thisdale's soft-edged, wistful artwork enriches the heartfelt story, strongly capturing the passage of time and Kateri's emotional journey. An afterword is appended, offering simple and relevant information as well as statistics of missing and murdered indigenous girls and women; together with the story, it should help to begin a conversation with young readers. A solid debut picture book that works as a record of voices that are usually unheard, ignored, and forgotten." — Kirkus Reviews

"A touching story related from the point of view of a missing indigenous woman as she watches her daughter grow up without her."— Quill and Quire

Awards

• TD Canadian Children's Literature Award Winner 

Educator Information
This is a picture book best suited for more mature readers, as it deals with mature themes and subject matter. It's best used for a read-aloud due to its subject matter and theme of loss. This book is not recommended as an independent read for younger ages.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.50" x 11.00"