With English and Anishinaabemowin text throughout, Monique Gray Smith’s book You Hold Me Up | Gimanaademin is a simple yet powerful story that presents to readers the many ways we can support and uplift each other as a means to nurturing ourselves, our families, and our community. Ideal for K–3 classrooms, this book is suitable for Language Arts and Social Studies, as well as topics related to belonging, social emotional learning, and creating safe spaces for all. Illustrator Danielle Daniel’s artistic and colourful illustrations reflect the interconnected relationships between Indigenous children and families through a contemporary lens and bring this delightful story to life. | Anishinaabemowin translation by Angela Mesic and Margaret Noodin. Also available in French, translated by Rachel Martinez.

32 pp., 8 × 8", colour illustrations

Monique Gray Smith (Cree, Lakota, and Scottish ancestry) • Danielle Daniel (Algonquin Anishinaabe, French, and Scottish), illus.

Source: Association of Book Publishers of BC - Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools (2021-2022)

Monique Gray Smith is a mixed–heritage woman of Cree, Lakota, and Scottish ancestry and a proud mom of twins. Monique is an accomplished consultant, writer and international speaker. Her first novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature. Monique and her family are blessed to live on Lkwungen territory in Victoria, British Columbia. 

Monique Gray Smith's profile page

 

Danielle Daniel est une artiste métisse multidisciplinaire. Elle a écrit Parfois je suis un renard pour encourager son jeune fils à découvrir ses racines autochtones. Enseignante pendant de nombreuses années, Danielle travaille maintenant comme professeur d'art à temps partiel au Canada et aux États-Unis. Elle habite dans le nord de l'Ontario.

 

Danielle Daniel is an author and artist whose first picture book, Parfois je suis un renard, won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and was shortlisted for the First Nation Communities Read Award for aboriginal literature. A former elementary school teacher, Danielle is pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing through the University of British Columbia. Danielle lives in Sudbury, Ontario.

 

Danielle Daniel's profile page

Angela Mesic currently teaches the first year Anishinaabemowin course at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) and provides online long-distance learning for Yale University. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in the field of psychology at UWM and is currently working on a master of community psychology at Alverno College. Angela has a strong interest in research focused on the psychology of learning and curriculum development. Through the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education at UWM, she assists the director, Dr. Margaret Noodin, in making significant revisions to language curriculum, and handles curricular queries from various internal and external partners, including Indian Community School, several colleges and universities throughout the United States, and tribal communities.

 

Angela Mesic's profile page

Margaret Noodin received an MFA in creative writing and a PhD in linguistics from the University of Minnesota. She is currently a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she also serves as director of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education and a scholar in the Center for Water Policy. She is the author of Bawaajimo: A Dialect of Dreams in Anishinaabe Language and Literature and two bilingual collections of poetry, Weweni and Gijigijigikendan: What the Chickadee Knows. Her poems are also anthologized in New Poets of Native Nations, Poetry, the Michigan Quarterly Review, Water Stone Review and Yellow Medicine Review. Her research spans linguistic revitalization, Indigenous ontologies, traditional science and prevention of violence in Indigenous communities. To see and hear current projects visit www.ojibwe.net, where she and other students and speakers of Ojibwe have created space for language to be shared by academics and the Native community.

 

Margaret Noodin's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, Bank Street College of Education Children's Book Committee Best Children's Books of the Year
• Short-listed, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
• Commended, Resource Links, The Year's Best Books
• Commended, Quill & Quire's Best Books of the Year
• Commended, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) Best Books

“Warm illustrations help to expand the brief text.”

The Horn Book Online

“This colourful picture book highlights the important connections that young children make with their friends and family members.”

Canadian Teacher Magazine

“An uplifting look at the impact of small moments throughout the day.”

School Library Journal

"Ideal for early readers by themselves, for lap-sitting, or as a read-aloud."

Canadian Literature

“A lovely meditation on compassion and respect...A strong sense of community runs through the poetic text and is warmly depicted in Daniel’s stunning watercolour paintings.”

49th Shelf

"A seemingly simple picture book that conveys a valuable message for all ages…The distinctive and soft illustrations by Daniel enhance the positive message by Smith about the power of companionship, compassion, respect and togetherness…This quiet book has a deep beauty and a universal message. "

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award Jury

"A strong and powerful message that even the youngest reader can understand...Very timely message indeed."

Youth Services Book Reviews

"You Hold Me Up is a gentle but effective way to introduce the topic of Reconciliation to students of all ages."

ETFO Voice

"You Hold Me Up is a welcome addition to the ongoing conversations around healing and rebuilding relationships…Gentle, relevant and never heavy-handed, this book serves both as a quiet lullaby and a starting point for discussions on empathy, community and wellness."

Canadian Children's Book News