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, by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson. This non-fiction text talks
Indigenous Indigenous Storytelling Literature Circle In the past, when teaching my students about Indigenous perspectives, I have often taken an approach that focuses on human rights. We spend time learning about colonialism in Canada and focus on texts
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
Graphic Novel A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era, written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, is the fourth and final volume in the Girl Called Echo series. The series focuses on
Indigenous Graphic Novels and Indigenous Rights Every year I try to improve how I include Indigenous voices and perspectives in my classroom. A unit I developed this year was a mini-literature circle that focused on graphic novels by Indigenous
Environment Protecting Water in Picture Books It is a mark of shame for Canada that Shoal Lake #40 reserve has had a boil water advisory since 1997, even though Shoal Lake provides drinking water for thousands of Canadians. Other
Education Braiding Sweetgrass Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is a book that weaves together Indigenous teachings and worldviews with scientific knowledge about plants and our natural world. The book was
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
Education A Mind Spread Out on the Ground When I write about books under the Education tag on my blog, I aim to recommend books I think teachers should read. Often I think these books give useful insights when it comes
Indigenous Indigenous Writes Indigneous Writes 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 in Canada. Chelsea
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, written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated
Young Adult Books The 7 Generations Series The 7 Generations Series, 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
Middle Grade Books The Ghost Collector The Ghost Collector, 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 and set them
Environment Picture Books that Teach us to Value Nature I have been struggling lately with when to start teaching my young kids about the ecological crises facing our planet. My son is a curious four year old and is starting to ask
Indigenous Two Novellas on Reconciliation A number of children's books 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
Indigenous This Place: 150 Years Retold This Place: 150 Years Retold 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
Indigenous Surviving the City Surviving the City, 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
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, by Robin DiAngelo. Appreciating this excellent book, I opened a tab to create a
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
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
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
Indigenous He Who Dreams - The Importance of High Interest Books For years, when I taught whole class novels I often felt stuck when it came to supporting struggling readers. Asking them to independently read a text that was beyond their current abilities clearly
Indigenous Seven Fallen Feathers and Systemic Racism in Schools This week I finished reading Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City, by Tanya Talaga. The book is about the deaths of seven Indigenous high school students in
Indigenous Residential School Picture Books This month, my students are learning about residential schools in Canada and human rights. This is an essential topic as Canada moves down the path of reconciliation. The natural first step is to