Teen Books

Peg is struggling for survival at her boarding school. Three über-cool “it” girls take aim at Peg and make her life utterly miserable. When her beloved Grandmother dies she just wants to disappear. Then an unexpected gift arrives; inside it, Peg finds three cast-iron Canadian soldiers. In despair, she throws them against the floor. How can they help her? They are so small, and the girls’ shadow is so big. But, miraculously, the toys come to life as Indigenous snipers from World War I, just in time to wage an epic battle against the girls. A powerful play that will appeal to audiences both young and old, Iron Peggy uses a creative and ever-surprising blend of voices and sceneries to tell this moving story. With 2018 marking the 100th-year anniversary of WWI, Iron Peggy is an excellent introduction to its history and a touching testimony that not only celebrates the First Nation participation in the war effort but also a young girl’s personal victory.

Iron Peggy, by award-winning, international Métis performer and playwright Marie Clements, was commissioned by the Vancouver International Children’s Festival and premiered at Vancouver’s Waterfront Theatre in 2019. (Adapted from Vancouver International Children’s Festival online presentation.)

Educator Information
A powerful play that will appeal to audiences both young and old. With 2018 marking the 100th-year anniversary of WW I, Iron Peggy is an excellent introduction to its history and a touching testimony that not only celebrates the First Nations participation in the war effort but also a young girl’s personal victory. By award-winning, international Métis performer and playwright Marie Clements, commissioned by the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

Recommended for grades 9 to 12 for Acting, Drama, English Language Arts, and Social Studies. 

Additional Information
112 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

it was never going to be okay is a collection of poetry and prose exploring the intimacies of understanding intergenerational trauma, Indigeneity and queerness, while addressing urban Indigenous diaspora and breaking down the limitations of sexual understanding as a trans woman. As a way to move from the linear timeline of healing and coming to terms with how trauma does not exist in subsequent happenings, it was never going to be okay tries to break down years of silence in simpson’s debut collection of poetry:

i am five

my sisters are saying boy

i do not know what the word means but—

i am bruised into knowing it: the blunt b,

the hollowness of the o, the blade of y

Awards

• 2021 Indigenous Voices Awards winner for Published Poetry in English.

Reviews
"jaye simpson’s it was never going to be okay is a symphony of unrelenting rage and undying hope that beckons to be heard, seen and held with the utmost care. In this stunning debut they speak truths to the complexities of the body, land and memory through an intimately structured and poignant cadence. This collection will leave you longing for more and, in the legacy of trans Indigenous literature, change lives." — Arielle Twist, author of Disintegrate/Dissociate

"jaye simpson marshals a vast economy of images because their subject matter is as large as an entire country, as the colonial past, as structures of oppression and indifference that undermine Indigenous and trans livability. At the level of craft, simpson makes use of the codes of tragedy, polemic, autobiography and the lyric artfully and powerfully. By the book’s end, buoyed by its final beautiful and tender section, a kind of love letter to trans Indigenous peoples, one is called on to build a new world. In this way, jaye simpson's poetry is a vital artifact of a decolonial future!" — Billy-Ray Belcourt, 2018 Griffin Poetry Prize winner for This Wound Is a World

Additional Information
112 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"

Fourteen-year-old Jaysen Flett-Paul's true story of how Elders guided him through his first Sundance ceremony to heal the anger and grief stemming from his mother’s violent murder. It sensitively tackles the heart-breaking problem of suicide in Indigenous communities, an issue of great importance to this community and for communities across North America.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

This book is part of the Finding Waka series.

Keywords / Themes: Ceremony, Elders, Family Issues, Grief, Anger, Loss, Spirituality

Additional Information
52 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

This fictional coming-of-age story traces a young girl's reluctant journey by canoe through the ancestral lands of the Tlicho People, as she gradually comes to understand and appreciate their culture and the significance of their fight for self-government.

Eleven-year-old Julia has lived in Wekweètì, NWT, since she was five. Although the people of Wekweètì have always treated her as one of their own, Julia sometimes feels like an outsider, disconnected from the traditions and ancestral roots that are so central to the local culture.

When Julia sets off on the canoe trip she is happy her best friends, Layla and Alice, will also be there. However, the trip is nothing like she expected. She is afraid of falling off the boat, of bears, and of storms. Layla's grandparents (who Julia calls Grandma and Grandpa) put her to work but won't let her paddle the canoe. While on land Julia would rather goof around with her friends than do chores. Gradually, Grandma and Grandpa show her how to survive on the land and pull her own weight, and share their traditional stories with her. Julia learns to gather wood, cook, clean, and paddle the canoe, becoming more mature and responsible each day. The journey ends at Behchoko, where the historic Tlicho Agreement of 2005 is signed, and the Tlicho People celebrate their hard-won right to self-government. Julia is there to witness history.

Inspired by true events, this story was written at the request of John B. Zoe, Chief Negotiator of the Tlicho Agreement, as a way of teaching the Tlicho youth about that landmark achievement. Journal of a Travelling Girl has been read and endorsed by several Wekweètì community members and Elders. The book will appeal to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children for its relatable themes of family, loss, coming-of-age, and the struggle to connect with tradition and culture.

Reviews
"Journal of a Travelling Girl deserves to be in every northern classroom. There is so much to learn here, and there is so much to celebrate." —Richard Van Camp, Tlicho author of The Lesser Blessed and Moccasin Square Gardens

"Journal of a Travelling Girl is an absolutely wonderful and timely book that will appeal to girls and boys of any race, colour, or creed. During this time of reconciliation it is necessary for all young people to learn and embrace the ways of our Indigenous ancestors. This book will do that!" —Verna J. Kirkness, author of Creating Space: My Life and Work in Indigenous Education

"As a person born and raised right on the land, Nadine Neema's Journal of a Travelling Girl rings as true to me as the blue skies and open land she so lovingly recounts." —Antoine Mountain, Dene writer and artist

"Journal of a Travelling Girl is not only about people who generously welcome a young girl to share in a special journey, but it introduces readers to an important moment of history." —Kathy Lowinger, co-author (with Eldon Yellowhorn) of What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal and Turtle Island: The Story of North America's First People

"Nadine Neema presents a unique and enlightening glimpse into the customs and culture of the Wekweèti community while exploring themes of acceptance, tolerance, equality, and reparation. . . This is a crucial and timely story. A must read for young readers!" —Tina Athaide, author of Orange for the Sunsets

"A wonderful account, through the eyes of a young girl, of our people's ways of doing things today, guided by our strong history of storytelling." —Tammy Steinwand, Director, Department of Culture and Lands Protection, Tlicho Government

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Inspired by true events, this story was written at the request of John B. Zoe, Chief Negotiator of the Tlicho Agreement, as a way of teaching the Tlicho youth about that landmark achievement. Journal of a Travelling Girl has been read and endorsed by several Wekweètì community members and Elders. The book will appeal to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children for its relatable themes of family, loss, coming-of-age, and the struggle to connect with tradition and culture.

This book is told from an outsider's perspective (the main character is a non-Indigenous girl from outside the community), but the close friendships she has with the Indigenous characters and the lessons and skills she learns from the Elders in the story promote the concept of respect for Indigenous culture and knowledge, as well as the timely issue of reconciliation between Indigenous and settler populations.

Nadine Neema lived and worked in the northern community of Wekweètì for several years, first as a community manager, then assisting with their land claims and self-government negotiations under Chief Negotiator John B. Zoe.

The canoe trip chronicled in the book is actually a yearly custom among the Wekweètì people, which ends at the site of the Treaty Council. Neema has participated in this canoe trip several times. John B. Zoe asked Neema to write this book as a way of teaching Wekweètì youth about the importance of the Agreement and the people who fought for years to gain control over their land and their government.

This is Neema’s first book, but she is an accomplished singer-songwriter who has released four albums. She was mentored by Leonard Cohen and has opened for artists such as Elton John, Joe Cocker and Cyndi Lauper.

Additional Information
144 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"

Journeyman is a first-person biography of Ojibwe rightwinger Jamie Leach, son of the legendary NHL superstar Reggie Leach. Follow the fascinating hockey trajectory from his childhood years watching his father play for the Philadelphia Flyers, to Jamie’s first goal in the NHL.

Journeyman touches on Jamie’s summers on Lake Winnipeg, the World Junior Hockey Championships, his life in the minor leagues, and his eventual draft into the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin. Discover how some of hockey’s biggest stars such as Bobby Clarke, Jaromir Jagr, and Mario Lemieux influenced Jamie’s life.

Written in close consultation with Jamie and his mother, readers will learn about the struggles Jamie conquered, including his father’s alcoholism and his own crippling self-doubt.

A story of determination, heartbreak and perseverance.

Reviews
"This straightforward, inspiring account goes down easy and should appeal to most kids, especially skaters looking for role models." —Booklist

Educator Information
Recommended by the publisher for middle-grade readers 10+.

Forward by Reggie Leach.

Additional Information
104 pages | 5.00" x 7.00"

Alors qu’elle tente de retrouver une balle de baseball perdue dans un sentier boisé, Pamela se retrouve en présence d’un vétéran de l’armée qui se tient devant un monument commémorant l’héroïsme du sergent Tommy Prince, le soldat autochtone le plus décoré au Canada. La curiosité de Pamela ravit le vétéran, qui se fait un plaisir de lui raconter l’histoire de ce tireur et pisteur reconnu pour le courage et l’audace dont il a fait preuve pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et la guerre de Corée.

Educator & Series Information
NATION BIG SPIRIT : D’HIER À AUJOURD’HUI est une série unique de sept bandes dessinées qui plonge les lecteurs au cœur de l’histoire canadienne en s’intéressant à des figures autochtones marquantes, parfois méconnues.

Tales From Big Spirit was created for grades 4 to 6.

This resource is also available in English: The Scout: Tommy Prince

Kathy adore la poésie, mais elle est trop timide pour en réciter devant la classe. L’histoire de Pauline Johnson, aussi connue sous le nom de Tekahionwake, l’inspire cependant à vaincre ses peurs. Née dans la communauté des Six Nations de la rivière Grand, en Ontario, Johnson a parcouru le pays pour réciter ses poèmes dans des villages éloignés, ce qui a fait d’elle l’une des figures littéraires les plus aimées de l’époque édouardienne.

Educator & Series Information
NATION BIG SPIRIT : D’HIER À AUJOURD’HUI est une série unique de sept bandes dessinées qui plonge les lecteurs au cœur de l’histoire canadienne en s’intéressant à des figures autochtones marquantes, parfois méconnues.

Tales From Big Spirit was created for grades 4 to 6.

This resource is also available in English: The Poet: Pauline Johnson

A vexatious shapeshifter walks among humans. Shadowy beasts skulk at the edges of the woods. A ghostly apparition haunts a lonely stretch of highway. Spirits and legends rise and join together to protect the north.

Land-Water-Sky/Ndè-Tı-Yat’a is the debut novel from Dene author Katłįà. Set in Canada’s far north, this layered composite novel traverses space and time, from a community being stalked by a dark presence, a group of teenagers out for a dangerous joyride, to an archeological site on a mysterious island that holds a powerful secret.

Riveting, subtle, and unforgettable, Katłįà gives us a unique perspective into what the world might look like today if Indigenous legends walked amongst us, disguised as humans, and ensures that the spiritual significance and teachings behind the stories of Indigenous legends are respected and honored.

Reviews
“This book brought a lot of memory for me when Elders used to tell stories sitting around and visiting my parents and telling stories about nąhgąąÌ. The story was so descriptive the way the Elders told stories. I related to all the events of the story because its very similar to the stories I’ve heard. MahsıÌ Cho for keeping our stories alive.”— Maro Sundberg, Executive Director at Goyatiko Language Society

“In the era of pre-contact, ancient stories were deeply engrained in the landscape from which it derives from. They inspire traditional storytellers to pass onto current times, a frame to support today’s tellings and in this writing, it’s an extension too snippets of stories heard, the collisions of changing times of life in the raw, taking many forms of intrigue, an ongoing tradition, a shapeshifting.” — John B. Zoe, traditional knowledge expert from Tlicho Territory, Senior Advisor with the Tłı̨chǫ Government, Chairperson of Dedats’eetsaa: the Tłı̨chǫ Research & Training Institute

"Katlıa has created a masterpiece that brilliantly weaves intriguing characters, history, culture, love for the land, water and sky into a riveting and magnificent read." — Monique Gray Smith, author of Tilly and the Crazy Eights

Additional Information
176 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

En chemin vers l’école, Sarah est soulagée de trouver le livre qu’elle avait perdu la veille, juste après avoir croisé la route d’un ours. L’incroyable se produit lorsqu’elle en ouvre les premières pages : l’histoire du chef cri Mistahimaskwa prend vie. Sarah est alors transportée en 1832, dans les plaines de la Saskatchewan, au moment où le jeune garçon appelé à devenir chef apprend le mode de vie de son peuple.

Educator & Series Information
NATION BIG SPIRIT : D’HIER À AUJOURD’HUI est une série unique de sept bandes dessinées qui plonge les lecteurs au cœur de l’histoire canadienne en s’intéressant à des figures autochtones marquantes, parfois méconnues.

Tales From Big Spirit was created for grades 4 to 6.

This resource is also available in English: The Chief: Mistahimaskwa

Affectée par le départ de sa mère, Tiffany, une jeune Anishinaabe, cherche à prendre en main son existence, entre son père et sa Mamie Ruth, sur la réserve de Lac-aux-Loutres, dans le centre de l’Ontario.Alors qu’elle compose déjà difficilement avec l’autorité de son père, les exigences de l’école et le début d’une relation amoureuse avec un garçon non autochtone, Tiffany voit sa vie bousculée par un mystérieux personnage, Pierre L’Errant, que son père a décidé de prendre comme chambreur.Celui-ci, qui dit débarquer d’Europe, fait une drôle d’apparition dans ce village où jamais un touriste ne met les pieds. Mamie Ruth, qui en a vu d’autres, n’est cependant pas dupe de ses histoires et devine qu’il camoufle d’épouvantables démons intérieurs.Auteur de nombreux romans et de pièces de théâtre, Drew Hayden Taylor, lui-même Anishinaabe, a voulu écrire un « roman gothique autochtone » où il aborde les défis de l’adolescence, la transmission de la culture et, surtout, la nécessité de ne jamais abandonner.

Educator Information
This book is available in English: The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel

Additional Information
330 pages | 4.72" x 7.48"

A bold and breathtaking anthology of queer Indigenous speculative fiction, edited by the author of Jonny Appleseed.

This exciting and groundbreaking fiction collection showcases a number of new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer) Indigenous writers from across Turtle Island. These visionary authors show how queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives that detail the vivacity and strength of 2SQness throughout its plight in the maw of settler colonialism's histories.

Here, readers will discover bioengineered AI rats, transplanted trees in space, the rise of a 2SQ resistance camp, a primer on how to survive Indigiqueerly, virtual reality applications, mother ships at sea, and the very bending of space-time continuums queered through NDN time. Love after the End demonstrates the imaginatively queer Two-Spirit futurisms we have all been dreaming of since 1492.

Contributors include Nathan Adler, Darcie Little Badger, Gabriel Castilloux Calderon, Adam Garnet Jones, Mari Kurisato, Kai Minosh Pyle, David Alexander Robertson, jaye simpson, and Nazbah Tom.

Reviews
"Many of the stories offer portraits of a dead Earth from which new life springs, and all are ultimately uplifting, hinting at a way forward through the darkness of the present. Drawing on deep wells of history and experience, these powerful stories are sure to impress." —Publishers Weekly

"The so-called end times feel so perilously close right now. With such a cacophony of anxiety, despair, and cynicism bearing down on us, it is sometimes easy to forget that Indigenous peoples have been here before, and we still remain to uphold our responsibilities to the world and to one another. Our stories guide us forward into an ever-uncertain future, just as they guide us back home. And as editor Joshua Whitehead affirms in the introduction, Love after the End is a book we need right now - and well beyond the now. The stories here are difficult, they're beautiful, they're hilarious and sad and frightening and hopeful. But more than all of that, they guide us back to ourselves and to our relations on a shimmering trail of song and stardust. The two-spirit visionaries in this collection remind us in so many ways that the world is a wounded relative in need of healing, and that to abandon her in this time of trial is to betray the sacred bonds of kinship that we were meant to carry with courage and compassion. I am grateful beyond words that this book is in the world, and grateful to the writers, artists, and editor for the gift of (re)imagining futures where Indigenous love, liberation, and laughter flourish far beyond the settler imaginary. —Daniel Heath Justice, author of Why Indigenous Literatures Matter

"Each of these smart, stunning, imaginative stories has not only fuelled my imagination but also filled my heart, reminding me how dramatically different it is to experience work written with absolute love. Reading Love after the End is like being handed a glass of fresh water in the middle of the desert." —Alicia Elliott, author of A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

Additional Information
192 pages | 5.80" x 9.00"

Mācī-Anihšināpēmowin / Beginning Saulteaux is an introductory look at one of the most widely spoken of all North American Indigenous languages, regionally known as Saulteaux, Ojibway, Ottawa (Odawa), Chippewa, and Algonquian. In an easy-to-use and easy-to-read series of lessons, both designed for self-study or for use in the classroom, Beginning Saulteaux will guide beginners through the language’s grammatical structures and spelling systems, as well as everyday terms and phrases. The book grounds the language in both traditional and contemporary contexts, and sheds light on the Saulteaux world view. For example, there is no word for good-bye in the language, so upon parting people will usually say Kika-wāpamin mīnawā, meaning “I’ll see you again.”

Educator & Series Information
The third in our Indigenous Languages for Beginners series, Beginning Saulteaux is an invaluable resource produced in consultation with Elders, Language Keepers, and community members, and continues our commitment to revitalizing Indigenous languages.

Additional Information
304 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | Spiral Bound

Author Layla F. Saad wrote Me and White Supremacy to encourage people who hold white privilege to examine their (often unconscious) racist thoughts and behaviors through a unique, 28-day reflection process complete with journaling prompts. This guided journal, which includes the book's original weekly prompts and lots of space for note-taking and free-writing, is the perfect place to begin your antiracism journey. You will unpack:

Week One: White Privilege; White Fragility; Tone Policing; White Silence; White Superiority; White Exceptionalism

Week Two: Color Blindness; Anti-Blackness against Black Women, Black Men, and Black Children; Racist Stereotypes; Cultural Appropriation

Week Three: White Apathy; White Centering; Tokenism; White Saviorism; Optical Allyship; Being Called Out/Called In

Week Four: Friends; Family; Values; Losing Privilege; Your Commitments.

Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change. Create the change the world needs by creating change within yourself.

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.25" x 7.75"

This eye-opening book challenges you to do the essential work of unpacking your biases, and helps white people take action and dismantle the privilege within themselves so that you can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.

Based on the viral Instagram challenge that captivated participants worldwide, Me and White Supremacy takes readers on a 28-day journey, complete with journal prompts, to do the necessary and vital work that can ultimately lead to improving race relations.

Updated and expanded from the original workbook (downloaded by nearly 100,000 people), this critical text helps you take the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources, giving you the language to understand racism, and to dismantle your own biases, whether you are using the book on your own, with a book club, or looking to start family activism in your own home.

This book will walk you step-by-step through the work of examining:

• Examining your own white privilege
• What allyship really means
• Anti-blackness, racial stereotypes, and cultural appropriation
• Changing the way that you view and respond to race
• How to continue the work to create social change

Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change.

Reviews
"Layla Saad moves her readers from their heads into their hearts, and ultimately, into their practice. We won't end white supremacy through an intellectual understanding alone; we must put that understanding into action."—Robin DiAngelo, author of New York Times bestseller White Fragility

"Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice."—New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert

"As an educator and writer in this space, I well understand the difficulties of productive discourse on topics like white supremacy, white fragility, and complicity. In Me and White Supremacy, Layla not only engages readers effectively – she hands them the tools they need to change themselves so that they can better the lives of millions of people worldwide." - Rachel Cargle, activist, writer, and lecturer

Additional Information
256 pages | 5.25" x 7.75"

MOONSHOT: The Indigenous Comics Collection brings together dozens of creators from North America to contribute comic book stories showcasing the rich heritage and identity of indigenous storytelling. From traditional stories to exciting new visions of the future, this collection presents some of the finest comic book and graphic novel work on the continent.

Educator & Series Information
Inhabit Education Books is proud to distribute this important collection of Indigenous comic stories, originally published by Alternate History Comics. Moonshot has been published under Avani, an imprint featuring titles that extend beyond the Canadian North, giving readers the opportunity to explore cultures and stories from all over Canada and around the world.

Ages 12+

This is volume 2 in the Moonshot series.

Additional Information
165 pages | 6.50" x 10.25" | colour illustrations