Heart Berry Bling

EVA CAMPBELL is an artist and illustrator who teaches visual art. She has exhibited her work in Canada, the US, the UK, Barbados and Ghana. Eva won the Children’s Africana Book Award for her illustrations in The Matatu by Eric Walters. She also illustrated Africville by Shauntay Grant, winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration, and a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist. Eva lives in Victoria.

• Bookstagang Best of 2023 Picture Book AwardsCommended 2023
• CBC Favorites AwardsWinner 2023

Social justice messages lie at the heart of many children’s and YA books with Indigenous authorship. The picture book Heart Berry Bling (HighWater, May), written by Jenny Kay Dupuis, a member of the Nipissing First Nation, and illustrated by Ghana-born artist Eva Campbell, shares the tradition of Anishinaabe beadwork and highlights the experiences of women, including the author’s grandmother, who lost their First Nations status due to Canada’s Indian Act.

Eva Campbell’s richly detailed illustrations and warm colour palette perfectly capture the loving relationship between Maggie and her granny. Heart Berry Bling is both a gentle introduction for readers who are not already familiar with the [Indian] Act, and a validation for those impacted by it. The book is an excellent educational resource for teachers, librarians, and parents looking to enrich collections of books about Indigenous histories in Canada.

This title stimulates the senses as the reader experiences impressions of colour, sound, touch, scent and taste through the keenly observed descriptive text and the accompanying illustrations. Text and illustrations meld together perfectly. It is a deceptively simple story of love that also draws attention to injustices of which most non-indigenous people are unaware. A great addition to all collections. Highly Recommended

Among recommendations for new picture books to share and discuss with young readers.

Among Bookstagang Best of 2023 Picture Book Awards

Touches on the emotional aspects of beading as well as a few technical skills! All this weaved into a visit between a girl and her grandmother, with a sprinkling of Canadian history, women's rights, and the importance of perseverance. Great for a read aloud for older students to introduce some of the unfair treatments [of] Indigenous Peoples in North America.

We need books from writers like Jenny Kay Dupuis--people whose families hold ... brutal realities in their memory as something they lived through--and people across North America have so much learning to do about Native life and history, and about authenticity of storyteller and storytelling. Quite magnificent….Highly recommended.

Among AICL's Year in Review, Best Books of 2023

This is a really simple story with [a] really powerful meaning underneath it. This story is so important. This book...does a great job of highlighting the importance of passing down tradition and cultural practices and will start a really great conversation in your classroom.

Among Rise: A Feminist Book Project 2024 Booklist

Heart Berry Bling teaches Indigenous realities and culture while warming the human heart.