Language

The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful board book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.

International speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote My Heart Fills With Happiness to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families and to encourage young children to reflect on what makes them happy.

Reviews
"My Heart Fills With Happiness is a story that focuses on supporting the wellness of Indigenous children and families, encouraging them to reflect on what makes them happy. The story looks at happy memories that readers can connect to and serves as a reminder to reflect and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy." —The Dalai Lama Center 

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

This is the dual-language English and Anishinaabemowin hardcover edition.

This book is also available in an English-only board book format: My Heart Fills With Happiness 

This book is also available in English and Plains Cree: My Heart Fills With Happiness / Ni Sâkaskineh Mîyawâten Niteh Ohcih

This book is available in French: J'ai le coeur rempli de bonheur

Additional Information
26 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.

International speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote My Heart Fills with Happiness to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families, and to encourage young children to reflect on what makes them happy.

Reviews
"My Heart Fills With Happiness is a story that focuses on supporting the wellness of Indigenous children and families, encouraging them to reflect on what makes them happy. The story looks at happy memories that readers can connect to and serves as a reminder to reflect and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy." - The Dalai Lama Center 

Educator Information
This paperback book is a dual-language (English and Plains Cree) edition of the board book My Heart Fills With Happiness.

This book is also available in English and Anishinaabemowin: My Heart Fills With Happiness / Nijiikendam

This book is also available in French: J'ai le coeur rempli de bonheur.

Recommended for Grades K-2 for the following subject areas: English Language Arts, Indigenous Language, Social Studies.

Additional Information
24 pages | 8.00" x 8.00" | Translated by Mary Collins.

Nanuq is so excited when she finds out she is going to be a big sister! She thinks about all the fun things she will do with her new sibling. But when her baby brother is born, he cries all the time. Her parents are so busy with the baby, they don’t have time for her anymore. Nanuq feels lonely. Is this really what being a big sister is like? See how Nanuq’s friends help her understand that there are good things about being a big sister, too.

Educator & Series Information
This is an Arvaaq Book. Books in this series are intended for infants and very young children and are designed to help children develop physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language skills.

Recommended Ages: 3 - 5

Dual-Language: English and Inuktitut

Additional Information
44 pages | 8.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

A picture book celebrating Indigenous culture and traditions. The Governor General Award-winning team behind When We Were Alone shares a story that honors our connections to our past and our grandfathers and fathers.

A boy and Moshom, his grandpa, take a trip together to visit a place of great meaning to Moshom. A trapline is where people hunt and live off the land, and it was where Moshom grew up. As they embark on their northern journey, the child repeatedly asks his grandfather, "Is this your trapline?" Along the way, the boy finds himself imagining what life was like two generations ago -- a life that appears to be both different from and similar to his life now. This is 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.

Awards

• 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature -- illustrated books 
• 2022 Shining Willow Award
• 2022 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award winner
• 2023 Chocolate Lily Award

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Shares and teaches some Swampy Cree words throughout the story.

Notes from the author and illustrator, as well as a glossary of the Swampy Cree words used in the story and a pronunciation guide are included.

This book is available in French: Ligne de trappe.

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.00" x 9.00"

Can you help Nanuq and Nuka look for colours?

In this interactive book, Nanuq and Nuka explore the world around them and look for different colours. Children can pull up the flap and find the hidden colours!

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 3 and under.

This is an Arvaaq Book. Books in this series are intended for infants and very young children and are designed to help children develop physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language skills.

Dual-language: English and Inuktitut

Additional Information
18 pages | 8.00" x 8.00" | Boardbook

These stories from the Peepeekisis Cree Nation tell of the Little People, Wesuketchuk, and the Sky People, and share the Plains Cree worldview, values, and spiritual beliefs.

“nipakosēyimon ēkā ta-wanihtāhk kinēhiyawātisinaw, tāpitaw awiyak ta-masinahahk ēkwan ta-pīkiskwātahk.” --Eleanor Brass, 1987

“I am hoping that our Indian culture will not be lost, that there will always be someone to write and speak about it. As the treaty reads, ‘As long as the grass grows and the water flows.’” —Eleanor Brass, 1987

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 12.

Dual-language: English and Plains Cree (y-dialect). 

Pronunciation guide included.

Additional Information
96 pages | 11.00" x 8.50"

In this charming picture book allegory of the creative writing process, happenstance and weather events symbolize the emotional ebb and flow of writing a poem.

I had a poem in my pocket,
but my pocket got a rip.
Rhymes tumbled down my leg
and trickled from my hip.

Thus begins the journey of a young poet's words out into the world, where they join randomly with other words to form funny riffs and puns all over a busy city street. The child scrambles to capture the loose words and arrange them back into poem form, only to lose them again as a storm swoops in on a rushing wind. Eventually, the words plant themselves in the muddy ground, where they grow into something that might be even better than the original poem: a Poet-Tree.

Not only a fanciful rhyming adventure tale, Chris Tougas's picture book is also a delightful allegory for the creative writing process. Perfect for classroom discussions about the emotional ups and downs of writing, this highly innovative book celebrating poetry and creativity is an excellent choice for National Poetry Month. It also showcases the magic of language and how much fun words can be. High-energy artwork by Josée Bisaillon is so full of words in flight and at play that children can pore over it again and again, and in the final spread, readers can search for rhyming pairs. An afterword discusses National Poetry Month and Poem in Your Pocket Day. This is a book that adult writers will also appreciate.

Reviews
"This is a whimsical, rhyming story that gives expression to the long frustration and toil that's often part of the artistic process." —Booklist

"This book about wordplay strikes the write balance between silly and sincere."—Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Lexile Code: Adult Directed 
Lexile Level: 570

Additional Information
24 pages | 9.15" x 10.35" | Hardcover 

Cort Dogniez’s Road to La Prairie Ronde, takes the reader on an imagined journey of his ancestor, Frederick Dumont, from his home in Batoche to the Métis settlement of La Prairie Ronde, known today as Round Prairie. Frederick was a relative of the famous Métis leader, Gabriel Dumont. Frederick’s journey takes place just a few years prior to the tragic events of the 1885 Resistance.

This charming coming-of-age story focuses on young Frederick learning valuable lessons from his family as he begins his own journey from boyhood to manhood. The Cree and Métis concept of wâhkôtowin is a central part of this story. Wâhkôtowin is about maintaining and affirming relationships with the Creator and the natural world and with families, communities, and Indigenous nations. We have a relationship to all things.

Elegantly illustrated by Jade McDougall, Road to La Prairie Ronde is complemented with a Michif glossary, a teachers’ guide, and suggested learning activities. This comprehensive learning package gives readers and educators an opportunity to learn more about traditional Métis lifeways and history.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended by the publisher for ages 9+.

Chapter book themes: Transportation, Family, Métis communities, Genealogy—kinship, Relationship with the land, Relationship with the Dakota, Travel pre-1885, Coming-of-age, Bison hunting, Humour, Familial relationships

"Dogniez says, “My intent with all my stories is to ensure that Métis cultural components are woven throughout the stories to encourage children to learn more about us, but also to think about their own cultural traits and practices.”" - from "Métis road trip tale shows snapshot of everyday life in late 1800s" on Praire Books NOW.

This book is the first in a historical fiction series from Cort Dogniez.

Additional Information
44 pages | Paperback 

The journey and transformation of water from the tops of the mountains down through the rivers and streams, told from a Syilx perspective.

skɬp’lk’mitkw / Water Changeling is the story of the natural water cycle from a Syilx traditional ecological knowledge perspective. The story features a water girl named skɬp’lk’mitkw who longs to visit with her grandparents. She receives help from newfound friends who change her into rain, hail and snow so she can reach her grandparents.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 7 to 10.

Author Harron Hall has written several children's books that incorporate her Indigenous heritage and her deep commitment to protecting the land and water, including The Water Sings to Suli?, We Go with Muskrat to Those Living Underwater and Lessons from Beaver's Work.

Learn about the water cycle using the n'syilxcen (the language spoken by the Sylix/Okanagan peoples) and English languages.  This book includes some words in n'syilxcen, but it is not a dual-language resource.

Learn about the water cycle through a fictional story.

This book is part of the Follow the Water series.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

When you go for a walk in nature, who do you see? What do you hear?

Award-winning storyteller Nicola I. Campbell shows what it means “to stand like a cedar” on this beautiful journey of discovery through the wilderness. Learn the names of animals in the Nłe7kepmxcín or Halq’emeylem languages as well as the teachings they have for us. Experience a celebration of sustainability and connection to the land through lyrical storytelling and Carrielynn Victor’s breathtaking art in this children’s illustrated book.

Discover new sights and sounds with every read.

Reviews
"Stand Like a Cedar is a work of grace and dignity, a celebration of land, family, and knowing who you are and where you come from and being so grateful for everything you’ve been given. Bravo, Nicola Campbell and Carrielynn Victor for creating this treasure. I love it."—Richard Van Camp, author of Little You and A Blanket of Butterflies

"Campbell’s rhythmic writing is wonderful, conveying important messages about the environment and family. Victor’s vibrant renderings accompany the engaging text nicely. Bold illustrations portray elements such as weather, nature, and animals alongside evocative details like glowing skylines. An Indigenous girl shares vivid lessons in this lovely, thoughtful environmental tale." —Kirkus Reviews

"Stand Like a Cedar is a story that connects the journey of building connections through a journey in the wilderness. Through the blended use of the Nłeʔkepmxcín and Halq'emeylem languages, readers are exposed to the healing that takes place in nature. The lyrical storytelling celebrates the healing and strength that comes from building one’s connections to their own journey." - The Dalai Lama Center

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

Learn the names of animals in the Nłe7kepmxcín or Halq’emeylem languages as well as the teachings they have for us.

Includes a glossary of phrases and a translation guide.

Includes a page of back matter on Coastal and Interior Salish Languages.

This book is available in French: Debout comme un grand cedre

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.12" x 7.75"

The Land of Great Turtles is a Cherokee origin story that introduces the reader to Cherokee beliefs and values.

The Creator gave the Cherokee people a beautiful island with everything they could ever need. It came with only one rule: they must take care of the land and the animals living there. But what happens when the children decide to play with the turtles instead of taking care of their responsibilities?

Written in both Cherokee and English, readers become familiar with the Cherokee syllabary and the Cherokee language.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Explores themes of disrespect, disobedience, responsibilities, and the consequences of choices.

This is a Cherokee origin story that teaches Cherokee values.

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

Let's count what we see as we walk on the tundra! Based on a song by award-winning Inuktitut singer and songwriter Looee Arreak, this book invites children to sing along as they count the animals they see on the tundra.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 3 and under.

This is an Arvaaq Book. Books in this series are intended for infants and very young children and are designed to help children develop physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language skills.

Dual-language in English and Inuktitut. 

Additional Information
28 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | Boardbook

Knowing our culture means knowing who we are. When we know who we are, we can walk in a good way.

It's been said when teachings are passed down from one generation to the next, good things can happen. Language is learned, knowledge is shared and culture is practiced. In this story of language preservation, author/illustrator and Anishnaabemowin language teacher Juliana Armstrong illuminates a number of Anishnaabemowin words along with their cultural connections, passed down from her Ojibway ancestors. Knowing our culture means knowing who we are. When we know who we are, we can walk in a good way.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8

This book shares Anishnaabemowin words, their cultural connections and how to say them, with the help of phonetics.

A story of Indigenous language preservation and revitalization.

This authentic book is written and illustrated by an Ojibway artist and Anishnaabemowin language teacher.

A teacher lesson plan is available: This Is What I've Been Told Teacher Lesson Plan

This book is available in French: C'est ce qu'on m'a dit

Additional Information
40 pages | 11.00" x 8.50"

Tuktu and his friends are playing Tuktu Says. Join in and play with them!

In this interactive book, children can play along by doing the actions with the characters in the book. With interactive books, children are encouraged to actively participate in the stories they are listening to. Through directions or instructional text, children are encouraged to play, move, or make sounds along with the characters in the book.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 3 and under.

This is an Arvaaq Book. Books in this series are intended for infants and very young children and are designed to help children develop physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language skills.

Dual-language: English and Inuktitut

Additional Information
34 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | Boardbook

Follow Ari through their neighborhood as they try to find their words in this sweet, accessible introduction to gender-inclusive pronouns that is perfect for readers of all ages.