Canadian

Books by Canadian authors or blog posts with Canadian content

Canadian

Books for Red Dress Day

May 5th is Red Dress Day, a day that brings awareness to the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. In Canada, Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are more likely to be the victims of violence due to racism and the ongoing effects of colonialism.

Environment

Indigenous Ingenuity

Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge, by Deidre Havrelock and Edward Kay, is a nonfiction book that focuses on the technological knowledge and achievements of Indigenous people from Turtle Island with a focus on precontact societies. The book is divided into various topics, such as transportation, medicine,

Indigenous

Memoirs, Truth and Reconciliation

In September to start the school year I have my class focus on identity and memoir writing. This serves as a good introduction, since it allows us to get to know each other and explore various writing routines we'll use throughout the year. Since September ends with the

Canadian

How to Change Everything

How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54304052-how-to-change-everything], by Naomi Klein with Rebecca Stefoff, is essential reading for young people who want to better understand the climate crisis. It covers where we are in

Canadian

The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation

To prepare for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this year I chose to explore The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61070507-the-witness-blanket?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=36eGyJDCp5&rank=2] , by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson. This

Canadian

Black Water, On the Trapline, and Kīwew

One amazing thing about the writer David A. Robertson is his ability to write compelling literature for any age group. Some of his most recent work demonstrates his versatility as he focuses on his relationship with his father and connecting with his Cree identity in Black Water [https://www.goodreads.

Graphic Novel

A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era

A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57907128-road-allowance-era?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=4sXAsT0TQd&rank=4] , written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, is the fourth and final volume in the Girl Called Echo series [https:

Canadian

Surviving the City: From the Roots Up

Surviving the City Vol. 2: From the Roots Up, written by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan, is a graphic novel that explores the intersections of Indigenous culture and gender identity. It builds on the previous volume [https://teacherbees.ca/surviving-the-city/] to show the struggles of an Indigenous teen

Environment

Music for Tigers

Music for Tigers [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50618252-music-for-tigers?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=T09RBK96ml&rank=1] , by Michelle Kadarusman, tells the story of Louisa, a Canadian middle schooler who is sent to the Tasmanian rainforest to stay at her family's remote

Indigenous

Indigenous Writes

Indigneous Writes [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30181589-indigenous-writes?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=fAdqK9QRDb&rank=1] by Chelsea Vowel is a guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit issues in Canada. The book provides a dialogue about the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and settlers

Indigenous

A Girl Called Echo - Volume 3

For teachers looking to bring Canadian history to life, with particular emphasis on Métis history, be sure to check out volume three of A Girl Called Echo [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42667980-northwest-resistance], written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson. The series [https://teacherbees.ca/a-girl-called-echo/

Young Adult Books

The 7 Generations Series

The 7 Generations Series [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8070816-stone], a graphic novel series written by David Alexander Robertson and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, recounts the life of seven generations of an Indigenous family, stories that span from the beginning of the 19th century to 2010. The series

Middle Grade Books

The Ghost Collector

The Ghost Collector [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43783388-the-ghost-collector?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=zP5rdzoFHI&rank=1] , by Allison Mills, is a middle grade book about loss, grief, and letting go. The main character Shelly and her grandmother have the power to collect ghosts

Canadian

No Fixed Address

Maybe you have seen the signs before. A child in your class does not bring a lunch to school. They rarely seem to wear clean clothes. They often seem tired and have difficulty completing work outside of the classroom. They cannot attend field trips and are not able to bring

Environment

Don't Panic: Big Solutions to the Climate Crisis

Today's blog post is about the climate crisis and I'd like to preface everything by saying Don't Panic. It is easy to get overwhelmed, but solutions do exist that can help us address this crisis. That being said, let's dig deeper and

Indigenous

Two Novellas on Reconciliation

A number of children's books [https://teacherbees.ca/residentialschoolpicturebooks/] examine what happened at residential schools and their immediate impact. Rarer are books that focus more specifically on the journey towards reconciliation. For this reason, I was pleased to come across two novellas that do just that: When We

Indigenous

This Place: 150 Years Retold

This Place: 150 Years Retold [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39351184-this-place?ac=1&from_search=true] is an ambitious project that aims to retell Canadian history by centering Indigenous perspectives and experiences. With over a dozen Indigenous authors and artists, the graphic novel anthology delves into stories from

Indigenous

Surviving the City

Surviving the City [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41215879-surviving-the-city?ac=1&from_search=true] , written by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan, tells the story of two girls dealing with the dangers of growing up Indigenous in Winnipeg. When main character Dez's grandmother becomes sick,

Education

White Fragility and the Canadian Classroom

Four months ago, I finished reading White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43708708-white-fragility], by Robin DiAngelo. Appreciating this excellent book, I opened a tab to create a blog post and immediately got stuck. The subtitle

Indigenous

Path to Reconciliation

A few weeks ago I attended the Manitoba Adolescent Literacy Summit and listened to author David Alexander Robertson's keynote entitled the Path to Reconciliation. It was a highlight of the conference, as his speech challenged me to look at reconciliation in my own classroom with a more critical

Education

Open Letter to the Manitoba Education Review Commission

Dear Commissioners of the Manitoba Education Review, This week, I attended the first Education Review Workshop at the Caboto Centre in Winnipeg. I began the workshop feeling energized. I was in a room full of teachers, parents and community members who had given their time to focus on the future

Education

What Kind of Citizen?

A key purpose of education is to prepare students to be good citizens. Few people would argue with this statement, but what does it mean to be a good citizen? What kind of citizenship are we talking about? When I was completing my post-baccalaureate degree in Education for Sustainability, I

Human Rights

Daniel's Story

I began reading Daniel's Story [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40959645-daniel-s-story], by Carol Matas, in preparation for the Manitoba Adolescent Literacy Summit in April. Carol Matas will be offering a session about teaching the Holocaust, and I wanted to become more familiar with her books before the

Indigenous

A Girl Called Echo

When I pick up a book set in my own province, it feels like I have found something special. Seeing my home in print on the page gives me a feeling of connection to a text that I don't often get with other books. Even rarer is finding

Indigenous

The Reckoner Series

I first started this blog to examine books that offer diverse voices to the world and allow students to see their own experiences, struggles, and successes reflected back at them. The diverse voices movement have highlighted a growing number of authors from a variety of different backgrounds, although I often