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The Trickster Shadow

The Trickster Shadow

Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Author) See More (2)
Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Illustrator) See More (4)

JUVENILE FICTION
Indigenous | Native American | Social Themes
Teachings , Elders , Emotions & Feelings
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
2 - 3
4 - 8
2026 Spring
Picture Books

Hardback
9780316574518
$24.99 CAD
English
09/09/2025

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Description


From an acclaimed Ojibwe artist comes a story that offers an empowering universal message about finding inner strength.
 
Zoon’s shadow is always in his way. It makes a mess of his room, disrupts his class at school, and trips him on the soccer field. Zoon doesn’t know what to do! Until he tells his grandmother about it, and she gives him his grandfather’s drum. Its rhythm is like a heartbeat. If only Zoon can listen to the drum’s song, and ultimately to his own heart, he may yet find a way to thrive alongside his shadow.
 
Pawis‑Steckley's striking, graphic art brings to vibrant life both the challenges of controlling our trickster impulses and the luminosity of ancestral and inner wisdom, paving the way for us all to listen to our hearts.
Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

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.

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


"Ojibwe visual artist Pawis-Steckley tells a universal story of finding inner strength.”—Horn Book
* “A moving and imaginative tale to heal tender hearts."—Kirkus, starred review
* "A delightfully engaging and empowering story on its own, this will pair wonderfully with traditional trickster tales from other cultures for storytime and school units."—Booklist, starred review

Biographical note


Mangeshig PawisSteckley is a multi‑disciplinary Anishinaabe award‑winning author, artist, and illustrator and a member of Wasauksing First Nation. He has illustrated several picture books, including Mii maanda ezhigkendmaanh / This Is How I Know by Brittany Luby and Sharice's Big Voice by Sharice Davids and Nancy K. Mays, which was an ALA Notable Children’s Book, a CCBC Choice, and a Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Book. Mangeshig spends his time living between Vancouver and Wasauksing First Nation. He invites you to visit him online at mangeshig.com.