Preschool and Kindergarten

In this charming debut, a feather from a red-tailed hawk finds its home in a little girl's dreamcatcher

When a gust of wind blows a feather off a flying red-tailed hawk, it marks the beginning of that feather's quest to find a new home. The feather ends up in a squirrel's nest, a woman's hat, and atop a sandcastle-but none of these spots feel right.

Soon, the feather is picked up by a little girl who lovingly takes it home to join two other feathers as part of a special craft project. When the project is complete, the reader discovers that the feather has found its home in a dreamcatcher.

Bright illustrations bring young readers along on this lost feather's search for purpose, and the heartwarming conclusion weaves in a tribute to an Indigenous cultural object.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: M 
Lexile measure: AD630L

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.75" x 7.75" | Hardcover

This tenderly told follow-up to the acclaimed To My Panik: To My Daughter highlights the unique beauty of a mother-son bond. In this lovingly told book, a mother recounts for her son all the things she loves about him, connecting each attribute to an element of the Arctic landscape or Inuit traditional life. Her son is strong, like a polar bear carrying its cubs across the frozen sea. He is gentle, like a delicate blade of cottongrass. He’s as steadfast as the spark that lights the campfire, and as invigorating as a sip of icy river water. This beautiful narrative of connection and love will warm the hearts of all readers.

Reviews
"This tender story, told in a poetic question-and-response structure, celebrates the bond between a mother and child and between an Inuit family and the Arctic landscape. Ideal for shared reading in K–1 classrooms, the story invites connections to seasonal cycles while encouraging personal reflections on strength, gentleness, integrity, compassion, and humour. The illustrator’s use of soft textures and muted tones contributes to the emotional tone of the story. In English Language Arts, it supports vocabulary development and oral language comprehension. In Science, it can prompt comparisons between Arctic and British Columbian flora and fauna. In Arts Education, Pang’s use of space and perspective to express scale can be explored through watercolour or pastel art techniques." - Bonny-Lynn D., Elementary School Teacher, Indigenous Books for Schools

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

This title is included in the Indigenous Books for Schools database from the Association of Book Publishers of BC as a recommended resource for kindergarten and Grade 1 for the following subjects: English Language Arts, Art, Science, and Social Studies.

Additional Information
28 pages | 9.50" x 8.50" | Hardcover 

Look to the sky!

High above the ground, generation after generation, Native workers called skywalkers have sculpted city skylines, balancing on narrow beams, facing down terrifying heights and heartbreaking loss. These skywalkers who dared to touch the heavens have built a legacy of landmarks all over the North American continent—and even today, there are Native Americans still climbing up among the clouds, brave enough to walk the sky.

With impactful and illuminating prose, Patricia Morris Buckley (Mohawk) tells the soaring story of the remarkable skywalkers, whose bravery and tragedies are warmly captured in moving watercolors by award-winning artist E. B. Lewis (Lenni-Lenape).

Reviews
"By turns solemnly reverent and enthusiastic, Buckley’s elegant text will leave young people keenly aware of the historical and present-day significance of these groundbreaking workers, as well as their strength and resilience. Awe-inspiring." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Graceful language honors skywalkers throughout this stirring telling, while fluidly rendered watercolor illustrations in a desaturated color palette employ sweeping perspective and scale." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This fascinating narrative provides an in-depth history of skywalkers, the Caughnawaga, and their contributions to our cities and infrastructure." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The text, even with all its facts and figures, is deeply emotional, capturing the giddy danger of skywalking, the relentless need to better one’s life, and the sorrow in a preventable tragedy...blurring faces and bodies in a way that emphasizes the comradery and connection between the workers." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Here, a descendant of one of the 75 workers who died in the 1907 collapse of the Quebec Bridge pays eloquent tribute to the first generation of Mohawk “skywalkers” who came out of the Caughnawaga (later Kahnawà:ke) reserve in Canada." — Booklist

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | Hardcover 

Explore a forest with a curious classroom in this breathtaking new picture book, and experience the essential beauty of diversity in humanity and nature.

Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip. But Joy's excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment.

Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world.

Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone—including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence—belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.

Perfect for classrooms and home libraries with accessible social-emotional and STEM themes, this picture book highlights the importance of interdependence, inclusion and celebrating diversity in our communities.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Additional Information
40 pages | 9.00" x 11.20" | Hardcover 

Everyone gets sad, angry, frustrated and disappointed. Difficult emotions are a natural part of life. In this book, Trudy's Healing Stone, Trudy Spiller shares a special teaching about a practice that anyone can use to help them process their feelings with the help of Mother Earth.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4-6

This rhyming book is an adaptation of Trudy’s Rock Story for a younger audience (ages 4-6).

A few Gitxsan words and how to say them are included at the end of the book.

This book is also available in French: Le caillou de guérison de Trudy.

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for Grades Pre-K to 1 for English Language Arts.

Additional Information
28 pages | 7.87" x 7.09" | Paperback

Go on an enchanting journey with The Twelve Days of Autumn, where each day reveals the wonders of wildlife and nature's vibrant transformations in this delightful seasonal twist on a classic tale!

This companion to Twelve Days of Winter is another book to read or sing along with children. In Twelve Days of Autumn, each day reveals the wonders of wildlife and nature's vibrant transformations as we ease into fall. Observe how animals prepare for colder months in this seasonal twist and reimagined version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” celebrating wildlife. "On the first day of autumn we looked around to see a wild turkey trotting down the trail."

Look for a curious turtle watching the changes come!

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 8.

This book is part of the Twelve Days Series.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover 

A pair of friends, Umingmak and Fox, haven't seen the sun for a long time.

Umingmak the muskox watches the sky growing darker in the winter months. Umingmak is surprised and a little scared! He asks his friend Fox: Why is it dark? Fox explains why it is so dark during the winter and brighter in the summer. Will talking to Fox help Umingmak feel better about his fear of the dark?

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 5 to 8.

This book is part of the Umingmak and Fox series. Umingmak and Fox: Why Is It Dark? takes a playful look at seasons in the North, where winter can be long and dark.

Additional Information
40 pages | 9.00" x 7.50" | Hardcover 

This bestselling and award-winning introduction to Etuaptmumk—the gift of multiple perspectives also known as Two-Eyed Seeing—is now available in a bilingual edition that celebrates the Mi’kmaw language and our connections to nature.

Elder Albert D. Marshall is a leading environmental voice who has brought forward the concept of Etuaptmumk, honoring and braiding both Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing for the benefit of all. Walking Together is grounded in this, as well as in the concept of Netukulimk, meaning to protect Mother Earth for the ancestors and for present and future generations. The journey in Walking Together nurtures respectful, reciprocal, responsible relationships with the Land and Water, with plant life and animals, and with other-than-human beings.

Translated by Barbara Sylliboy and Arlene Stevens, Eskasoni First Nation, Unama’ki (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia, the dual-language text in Mi’kmaw and English furthers Elder Marshall’s lifelong work preserving cultural beliefs and creating a strong vision for his people and for the future. Elder Marshall and Louise Zimanyi are working together to promote Land-based learning through storytelling, an approach that has global relevance for protecting biodiversity, climate action, and resilience. Emily Kewageshig’s evocative artwork illustrates the beauty of connecting with nature and encourages readers to strengthen their relationships to the world around them.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Introduces the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing (the gift of multiple perspectives) to young readers.

Bilingual Edition: Mi’kmaw and English.

This book is available in English: Walking Together 

Additional Information
40 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover 

Prepare to embark on a journey rich with the wisdom of our ancestors and the secrets shared by Mother Earth.

In this children’s book, you will follow a path once tread by those before us, where the songs of the trees, the dance of the rivers, and our stories are carried by the wind. These teachings are invaluable treasures passed down through generations.

You’ll discover the language of animals, the lessons of plants, and the wisdom of the land. If you listen closely, you will hear the “Whispers of the Earth,” guiding you on this incredible adventure.

Educator Information
Recommended for kindergarten to grade 7.

Carl Sam advised on the language, and is “Ha7li” of the Bear Clan from Skookumchuck, part of St’at’icmulh Nation, sometimes referred to as the Interior Salish. Through this book, he shares elements of the Ucwalmícwts language.

Includes some words in Ucwalmícwts.

Additional Information
60 pages | 20 × 20 × 1 cm | Paperback | Printed locally on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

In Wôpanâak Seasons a young Wampanoag child takes readers on a seasonal journey through Aquinnah, on Neope, known as Martha’s Vineyard. Spring brings the return of wildlife; summer brings beach adventures and clambakes; fall is for harvesting cranberries and making jams; and winter features cozy gatherings and heartfelt traditions. Each season showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Wampanoag people. With striking illustrations and lyrical prose, this book is about an appreciation of the land and the joy the joy of coming together with our community all year round.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

Additional Information
40 pages | 7.00" x 8.50" | Hardcover

Bahe and Dezba are helping their grandmother, Nali, move from her sheep camp home to their house. The family is packing up, carrying heavy boxes, and settling into a new life together, which isn’t always easy. At every frustration, they throw up their hands and exclaim, “Yaadila!” Good grief!

Bahe sees that this big change is hardest for Nali. But he has a secret plan. Whatever can he be doing with a bucket of water, all that yarn, and Dezba’s dollhouse?

In this heartwarming and quintessentially Navajo (Diné) story, author Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and illustrator Jonathan Nelson (Diné) together show a big change for an Elder made easier with a creative gesture of love and care.

Reviews
"Exasperation and love go hand in hand in this humorous yarn....Diné words are sprinkled into the text and defined in a glossary. Though the narrative could have benefited from a fuller explanation of the titular term at the outset, young readers will understand “Yáadilá!” by book’s end and will be amused by the interplay between Bahe and the “Helpful Narrator,” who breaks the fourth wall with comic book–style interjections. Underscoring Diné language and heritage, the tale touches on family and homesickness in a context many will relate to." — Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Additional Information
40 pages | 10.00" x 8.00" | Hardcover

A modern-day twist to The Giving Tree, this book chronicles the changes brought upon a beloved family tree that must be uprooted and planted on new land. This debut picture book by Staci Lola Drouillard (Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe descendant) celebrates resiliency, family bonds, and our deep connection to and responsibility for nature.

Grandma’s garden was not just any garden. It was where a spruce tree, only as tall as baby Francis, reached her roots into the soil and stretched her branches toward the sky. Here, on the shore of Gichigaming, is where Francis and the sapling felt right at home.

But when Grandma and Grandpa decide to move away, Francis wants to take the tree with them—can they?

Brimming with tenderness, this story from Staci Lola Drouillard (Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe descendant), with illustrations by Kate Gardiner (Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuck Indians), traces the journey of one family, and a little tree, as they adapt to change by drawing on the strength of their roots.

Reviews
"Drouillard, a Grand Portage band of Ojibwe descendant, and Gardiner, a member of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuck Indians, expertly weave together Francis and Gawaandagoonce’s grief and growth, conveying the heartbreak and resilience that often accompany transition while honoring Ojibwe values and language. A poignant illustration of how our roots keep us grounded amid change." — Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Additional Information
40 pages | 10.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover

Learn fun names for animal groups of the West Coast with a sturdy board book featuring the illustrations of Indigenous artist Roy Henry Vickers.

Bright blocks of colour and tactile embossed pages bring the natural world of the wild West Coast to life. Accompanied by a rhythmic, rhyming text, this board book will entertain babies, toddlers, and adults alike as they discover that orcas leap and dive in a pod, a bunch of sea lions are called a bob, geese make up a wedge, a swamp full of croaking frogs form a chorus, a jumble of jellies are called a bloom—and more!

A Flock of Gulls, a Chorus of Frogs is a vibrant addition to this bestselling, award-winning First West Coast Book series, perfect for storytime and supporting language development in babies and toddlers.

Educator & Series Information
This book is a part of the First West Coast Books series.

Recommended for ages 3 and under.

Additional Information
24 pages | 7.25" x 5.00" | Board Book

Join artist and author, Storm Angeconeb, Lac Seul First Nation, Ojibwe as she gives thanks to her relatives in her first published children’s book. In All My Relatives — Indinawemaaganidag, Storm shares the intimate relations between the natural world, her family and their traditions. Storm gives thanks to each animal in Ojibwe in this first-of-its-kind board book featuring her beautiful, colourful Ojibwe art.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 0 to 4.

Additional Information
16 Pages | 16.5" x 16.5" | Board Book

All That You Are is a series of heartwarming, affirmational picture books from author and illustrator Sarah-Anne Tourond.

Through lyrical text and watercolour illustrations, this series shares the teachings of the Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel to remind children of their connection to the world around them. Each book is inspired by one quadrant of the Medicine Wheel that represents an aspect of wellness—Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, or Mental. A diagram of the Medicine Wheel is included at the back of the books. Anishinaabe Connections are also included to share more about Anishinaabe art, culture, and traditions explored in the text and illustrations.

A percentage of proceeds from this series is donated to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society to support their efforts in advocacy for justice and healing. To find out more information, please visit https://www.irsss.ca/.

Books in the All That You Are Series include:

You Are Sacred – Connects to the Spiritual quadrant of the Medicine Wheel

You Are the Land – Connects to the Physical quadrant of the Medicine Wheel

Educator Information
Books in the All That You Are series are best suited for children ages 3 to 6 and make wonderful read-alouds in classrooms and homes.

Free lesson plans and activity sheets are available for each book.

Curriculum Connections:

Early Literacy – listening, reading, and discussing

Art – the rhythm and music of the world around us, traditional Anishinaabe clothing and art

Health and Wellness – focusing on breath and balance, self-affirmation

Science – harmonious ecosystems, biodiversity of plants and animals with Indigenous cultural importance, environmental awareness

Social Responsibility – uplifting others and ourselves

Indigenous Knowledge and Traditions – teachings of the Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel, the Seven Generations, and All Our Relations

Additional Information
Each book is 24 pages | 8” x 8” | Hardcover | Series ISBN: 978-1-77174-630-4