Browse Books for Kids

Find out what the weather is like in the Arctic.

This book helps children practise describing the weather by showing weather conditions that are common in Nunavut.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 4 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is A.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Environmental awareness

Recommended for ages 3-6.

Additional Information 
12 pages | 6.00" x 8.00"

"There is no death. Only a change of worlds.”  —Chief Seattle [Seatlh], Suquamish Chief

What do people do when their civilization is invaded? Indigenous people have been faced with disease, war, broken promises, and forced assimilation. Despite crushing losses and insurmountable challenges, they formed new nations from the remnants of old ones, they adopted new ideas and built on them, they fought back, and they kept their cultures alive.

When the only possible “victory” was survival, they survived.

In this brilliant follow up to Turtle Island, esteemed academic Eldon Yellowhorn and award-winning author Kathy Lowinger team up again, this time to tell the stories of what Indigenous people did when invaders arrived on their homelands. What the Eagle Sees shares accounts of the people, places, and events that have mattered in Indigenous history from a vastly under-represented perspective—an Indigenous viewpoint.

Reviews
“A standout overview . . . Visually engaging . . . a fine introduction . . . Sections in each chapter labeled “Imagine” are especially powerful in helping young readers empathize with Indigenous loss. Essential.”  — Kirkus Reviews, *starred review

“A worthy and important addition to the historical record.”  — Booklist, *starred review

“A brilliant introduction . . . An important read for everyone eleven years and older. It should be mandatory reading for all educators.”  — Library Matters

The combination of modern and historical insight is extremely effective. A valuable resource for anyone seeking to learn more about Indigenous history and a vital purchase for all collections.”— School Library Journal, *starred review

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 11+.

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 6 to 12 in these areas: Applied Design, English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Social Justice.

Additional Information
120 pages | 7.50" x 9.25" | Paperback

Miali loves spending time with her anaanatsiaq!

Anaanatsiaq has lots of stories to share about her past. Miali loves listening to Anaanatsiaq’s stories and learning about what life was like long ago.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. It is a Level 12 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. F&P Level of this book: O.

Curriculum Connections: Language and Literacy; Diversity; Indigenous Perspectives; History and Heritage.

Recommended for ages 7 to 9.

Additional Information
24 pages | 7.00" x 9.00"

What do you do in your community?

This book describes different activities children do in an Arctic community.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 7 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is C.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Indigenous perspectives; Community engagement; Roles and responsibilities

Recommended for ages 5-7.

Additional Information 
16 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

Utak is from Nunavut. Peace is from Ghana, West Africa. They may be from different parts of the world, but many of the things they like to do are the same!

This book features common activities children might like to do, along with beautiful photographs of Nunavut and Ghana.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. The Nunavummi Reading Series is now offering books that explore a global perspective. This is one of those books, focusing on a child in Africa and another in Nunavut.

This book is a level 7 book in the Nunavummi Reading Series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P level: C.

Curriculum Connections: Language and Literacy; Diversity; Identity; Indigenous Perspectives.

Recommended for ages 5-7.

Additional Information
16 pages | 7.80" x 7.80"

There is a lot to see in Nunavut!

This book explores different parts of the Arctic landscape, such as a river and a shoreline.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 5 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is A.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Diversity; Indigenous perspectives; Environmental awareness

Recommended for ages 5-7.

Additional Information 
12 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

There is a lot to see in Nunavut!

This book features words for different parts of the Arctic landscape. Beautiful illustrations guide children to practise reading the single word on each page.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 3 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is LB.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Diversity; Indigenous perspectives; Environmental Awareness

Recommended for ages 3-6.

Additional Information 
12 pages | 7.00" x 7.00"

We can see a lot of interesting things on the land.

This book describes what you might see while walking on the land in Nunavut.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 7 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is C.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Diversity; Indigenous perspectives; Environmental awareness

Recommended for ages 5-7.

Additional Information 
12 pages | 6.00" x 8.00"

When We Had Sled Dogs: A Story from the Trapline - ācimowin ohci wanihikīskanāhk takes readers young and old on a journey into the past when dog teams were part of the traditional way of life in Northern Saskatchewan. Inspired by Elder Ida Tremblay’s childhood memories, and told in English with Woodland Cree words and phrases, the story follows the seasonal cycle of trapline life.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 5 - 10.

Delivered in English with Woodland Cree words and phrases.

This resource is recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades K to 4 for use in these areas: Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Career Education.

Additional Information

A sweet story about facing your fears, even when you're scared.

It’s a bright and beautiful day at the lake where a boy and his mother are camping. The boy is just a little scared of jumping into the water. At the same time, not too far away, a hungry bear cub is a little scared of diving deep into a dumpster, where tasty snacks await.

Later, when the boy encounters a distraught mama bear sniffing around the dumpster, he’s very scared. But so is her bear cub, who is trapped inside! Bold, graphic artwork moves the narrative along in this mostly-wordless book full of sound effects and simple variations on a single phrase full of so many meanings (“He was scared”). Parallel stories of the mother and son, and mama and cub, come together when the campers, despite being scared, help rescue the cub from the dumpster.

This simple, moving story invites readers to observe expressions, body language, and details hidden in the illustrations to follow the narrative. It’s a sweet summer read that normalizes fear and encourages acting with courage and compassion—even when you’re scared.

Reviews
"Conquering fears, helping others, and perhaps a message about wild animals and human garbage—though almost wordless, this book certainly says a lot." — Kirkus Reviews

Educator Information
This book features:

• Mostly wordless narrative told through illustrated clues, sound effects, and variations on a single phrase.
• Bold, graphic artwork that depicts summer in nature as inviting and exciting.
• Repetition and patterning support comprehension.

Reading Level: Kindergarten
Fountas & Pinnell: C
Reading Recovery: 3
Lexile Measure: BR80L

Curriculum Components: Language Arts: Reading Comprehension

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.50" x 11.25"

This resonant and award-winning picture book tells the story of one girl who constantly gets asked a simple question that doesn’t have a simple answer.

A great conversation starter in the home or classroom—a book to share. When a girl is asked where she’s from—where she’s really from—none of her answers seems to be the right one.

Unsure about how to reply, she turns to her loving abuelo for help. He doesn’t give her the response she expects. She gets an even better one.

Where am I from?

You’re from hurricanes and dark storms, and a tiny singing frog that calls the island people home when the sun goes to sleep....

With themes of self-acceptance, identity, and home, this powerful, lyrical picture book will resonate with readers young and old, from all backgrounds and of all colors—especially anyone who ever felt that they don’t belong.

Reviews
"Lyrical language and luminous illustrations. An ideal vehicle for readers to ponder and discuss their own identities." —Kirkus (starred review)

"An enchanted, hand-in-hand odyssey [and] opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the many, many backgrounds, roots, histories, of those who live in these United States." —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"A much-needed title that is a first purchase for libraries and classrooms." —School Library Journal

"This touching book addresses a ubiquitous question for children of color, and in the end, the closeness between the girl and Abuelo shows that no matter the questions, she knows exactly where she’s from." —Booklist

"Although the book begins as a gentle riposte to narrow cultural and ethnic categorizations, its conclusion reaches out to all readers, evoking both heritage and the human family." —Publishers Weekly

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Themes / Subjects: Self-Acceptance; Identity; Home; Diversity; Immigration/Emigration; Prejudice

Additional Information
40 pages | 10.00" x 8.50" | Hardcover 

Where do you like to walk?

This book helps children practise prepositions by describing where two people walk in Nunavut.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 6 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is B.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Diversity; Indigenous perspectives; Environmental awareness

Recommended for ages 5-7.

Additional Information 
12 pages | 6.00" x 8.00"

Celebrated Mi'kmaw artist behind The Thundermaker returns with a story about friendship and the importance of traditional knowledge.

From the bestselling creator of The Thundermaker comes another adventure featuring Little Thunder and Wolverine — a trickster, who is strong and fierce and loyal. The two are best of friends, even though Wolverine can sometimes get them into trouble. Their favourite pastime is eel fishing, whether it's cutting through winter ice with a stone axe or catching eels in traditional stone weirs in the summer. But that all changes one night, when they encounter the giant river eel — the eel that is too big to catch. The eel that hunts people!

At once a universal story of friendship and problem-solving, Wolverine and Little Thunder is a contemporary invocation of traditional Mi'kmaw knowledge, reinforcing the importance of the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and eel, a dependable year-round food source traditionally offered to Glooscap, the Creator, for a successful hunt.

Educator Information
Recommended ages: 4-8

Additional Information
40 pages | Paperback

Water warriors and tree protectors, Ethan and Isla cook, have many questions to ask Siri about the state of the world.  This book is their conversation, with pictures by their dad, Rande.

Illustrations with conversations are an Indigenous way of showing rather than telling, and Yo! Wiksas? is a great book for curious kids who ask big questions, and adults who help them discover answers about bullying, environmental protection, inclusivity, and more. Also a useful classroom adjunct to interpersonal relationships; includes an on-end study guide.

The book shows an illustrated conversation between Isla and Ethan, son and daughter of Kwakwaka’wakw Chief Rande Ola K’alapa, a much-loved artist of mixed European and Indigenous descent, and their invisible friend Siri. Isabel Rogers, also a kid, is part of the story-telling process.

Reviews
Excerpt from the Afterword from the author:

Educator Information
This book was developed by Linda Rogers and Rande Cook (Rande Ola K'alapa). It is questions for the Creator that have been diverted to Siri, a game Rande plays with his kids Ethan and Isla. 

Consider this book to be a bridge, a route to one important thing: Kindness... The books' creators want lots and lots of kids to share in on their fun and to think about their own questions, and discover their own answers.

Includes a Kwak'wala glossary, as well as an Afterword and Study Guide. 

Additional Information
76 pages | 8.00" x 9.00"

Authenticity Note: Because this story is a collaborative effort, with words by Linda Rogers with big helps from Isla, Ethan, Isabel, and Siri, and illustrations from Rande Cook, it has been given the Authentic Indigenous Text and Artwork labels.  It's up to readers to determine if the text in this work is authentic for their purposes.

This picture book explores how humans are inextricably connected to nature. This book draws examples from the clouds and the cosmos, the seafloor and the surface of our skin, to show how we are never alone: we are always surrounded and supported by nature. Whether it’s gravity holding us tight; our lungs breathing oxygen synthesized by plants; the countless microorganisms that build our immunity; or the whales whose waste fertilizes the plankton that feed the fish we eat: nature touches every aspect of how we live.

Using lyrical text grounded in current science alongside detailed diorama art, this informational picture book presents the idea that we thrive through connections to the land and sea and sky, and togetherness is key to nature. It encourages inquiry-based learning, inviting readers to wonder, ask questions, observe the natural world, and engage with big ideas. An author’s note at the end offers more insight into the research behind the text.

Reviews
"it is all elegantly presented in soaring, vivid language...breathtakingly beautiful." — Kirkus Reviews - STARRED REVIEW

Educator Information
Curriculum Connections: Language Arts (Skills and Strategies); Science (Life Science, Animals, Environment, Biology, Life Systems)

This book evokes the interconnectedness of nature and is based on scientific research, with cross-curricular links to STEAM, inquiry-based learning, and more.

Reading Level: Grade 5
Fountas & Pinnell: S
Lexile Measure: 820L

Recommended for ages 4+

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.25" x 10.25" | full-colour illustrations, photographed 3D dioramas