Description
A poem by acclaimed Ojibway author Richard Wagamese is reimagined as a stunning picture book in the skilled hands of Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. Thoughtful, healing and hopeful, Canada is a testament to the transformative power of enduring identity and belonging.
"Listen. Can you hear the voices of the Old Ones speaking to you in a language you've forgotten?"
An Indigenous child struggles with a school assignment that asks, "What makes you proud to be Canadian?" To find the answer, they call on the strength of their ancestors. The ancestors' warm presence reminds them that we are in this together and we always have been — "every soul that has fallen head over heels in love with the spell of this country."
This powerful and timeless poem written by Richard Wagamese is seen through the eyes of an Indigenous child in the captivating illustrations by Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. As the poem speaks to a new generation of Indigenous children, it welcomes everyone to honor the past, find belonging here and now, and look toward the future in this place now called Canada.
"Listen. Can you hear the voices of the Old Ones speaking to you in a language you've forgotten?"
An Indigenous child struggles with a school assignment that asks, "What makes you proud to be Canadian?" To find the answer, they call on the strength of their ancestors. The ancestors' warm presence reminds them that we are in this together and we always have been — "every soul that has fallen head over heels in love with the spell of this country."
This powerful and timeless poem written by Richard Wagamese is seen through the eyes of an Indigenous child in the captivating illustrations by Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. As the poem speaks to a new generation of Indigenous children, it welcomes everyone to honor the past, find belonging here and now, and look toward the future in this place now called Canada.
Author Bio
MANGESHIG PAWIS-STECKLEY is an Anishinaabe illustrator and a member of Wasauksing First Nation. He illustrated the award-winning picture book Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know and Mnoomin maan'gowing / The Gift of Mnoomin, both by Brittany Luby, and is the author and illustrator of Boozhoo! / Hello! He lives in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples (Vancouver) with his wife Maria and daughter Mino.
Review Quotes
One of Indigo's Best Kids' Books of 2026
A CIBA Booksellers’ List Best Kids' Books of 2026
"Dedicated to celebrating Indigenous peoples of Canada [and] offers specific information about their diversity and their ongoing presence. . . . This haunting and beautiful testament to links between past and present should be shared between young readers and the adults who care for them."—Imaginary Elevators
"Through a tapestry of illustrations drenched in deep color, the ancestors, at times filling the entire page with their ghostly faces, urge a new generation of Indigenous children to embrace every aspect of what it means to be themselves and to be part of something larger. Themes of belonging and inheritance are explored in images of Canada’s landscape and wildlife and in its First Nations and immigrant communities. . . . Through shared stories, a history and appreciation emerge that explores past and present, legacy and understanding." —The Horn Book
"Complex, beautiful, and thought-provoking." —School Library Journal
"From its flow of luminous colours and glowing shapes, this picture book, one of the first releases from Tundra's new Indigenous imprint, Swift Water Books, declares itself to be what it is: momentous." —CanLit for Little Canadians
A CIBA Booksellers’ List Best Kids' Books of 2026
"Dedicated to celebrating Indigenous peoples of Canada [and] offers specific information about their diversity and their ongoing presence. . . . This haunting and beautiful testament to links between past and present should be shared between young readers and the adults who care for them."—Imaginary Elevators
"Through a tapestry of illustrations drenched in deep color, the ancestors, at times filling the entire page with their ghostly faces, urge a new generation of Indigenous children to embrace every aspect of what it means to be themselves and to be part of something larger. Themes of belonging and inheritance are explored in images of Canada’s landscape and wildlife and in its First Nations and immigrant communities. . . . Through shared stories, a history and appreciation emerge that explores past and present, legacy and understanding." —The Horn Book
"Complex, beautiful, and thought-provoking." —School Library Journal
"From its flow of luminous colours and glowing shapes, this picture book, one of the first releases from Tundra's new Indigenous imprint, Swift Water Books, declares itself to be what it is: momentous." —CanLit for Little Canadians
Biographical note
RICHARD WAGAMESE was a multi-award-winning Ojibway writer from Wabaseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario, Canada. His bestselling novels include Indian Horse, which was a Canada Reads finalist, winner of the inaugural Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature and made into a feature film; and Medicine Walk. He was also the author of acclaimed memoirs, including For Joshua; One Native Life and One Story, One Song, which won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature; as well as a collection of personal reflections, Embers, which received the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. He won the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications, the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize, the Canada Reads People's Choice Award and the Writers' Trust of Canada's Matt Cohen Award. Richard died on March 10, 2017, in Kamloops, BC.
MANGESHIG PAWIS-STECKLEY is a multidisciplinary Anishinaabe artist and a member of Wasauksing First Nation. He is an award-winning children's book illustrator and author whose work explores themes of language revitalization, ancestral knowledge sharing and memory. Mangeshig's books have received a Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, an Indigenous Voices Award and the Blue Spruce Award, and Miimaanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know (written by Brittany Luby) was shortlisted for a Governor General's Literary Award.
MANGESHIG PAWIS-STECKLEY is a multidisciplinary Anishinaabe artist and a member of Wasauksing First Nation. He is an award-winning children's book illustrator and author whose work explores themes of language revitalization, ancestral knowledge sharing and memory. Mangeshig's books have received a Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, an Indigenous Voices Award and the Blue Spruce Award, and Miimaanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know (written by Brittany Luby) was shortlisted for a Governor General's Literary Award.