Canada: We Are the Story is a poem by Ojibway author Richard Wagamese reimagined as a picture book by Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. This book was beautifully illustrated and shared such a lovely message of hope, diversity, and unity. While this book speaks about the Indigenous people of Canada, it calls to all those who read it to listen for their ancestors. What we now call Canada is a land of so many people these days, and this book honors its history while looking toward the future. I don’t have children, but I would definitely gift this book to a child and recommend it to parents!

A wonderful and important book for all children. This picture book is a beautiful poem that explores what makes a child proud to be Canadian. The story begins with a First Nations boy, who is struggling to complete his homework because he is not sure how to express his feelings of pride for his country. While sitting quietly, trying to start his project, he hears the elders, those that have lived before him, whispering that he needs to listen, He is encouraged to listen to the Ancestors in the Spirit World, who are gently trying to remind him of his rich and valuable heritage. Children will enjoy the vibrant illustrations that celebrate the landscapes and the traditions of the Canadian aboriginal people.

I really like the author's approach to telling his story. I suspect that it will be appreciated better by others, but in my mind, Canada is painted as a mother who claims all of her little ones, no matter their language or nationality. The illustrations are positively breathtaking.

Thank you to Swift Water Books, an imprint of Tundra Book Group, and Netgalley for the digital arc.
Brilliant in both color and theme, Richard Wagamese, storyteller and author, and Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, storyteller and illustrator, urge a student, and everyone else reading this book, to listen carefully to the stories of one's ancestors, even as they whisper from the past. This listening and remembering allows legacies and cultures to mold with other diverse stories to create “Kanata”, which means “our home”. The author begins with one student, in a class with other students, and ends with a complete diverse nation. Definitely a book to be shared and savored--text and illustrations could not support each other any better.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to add a couple of copies to my classroom and gift one to my niece. The poem shares a powerful message about valuing connection and community, making it both meaningful and memorable. The illustrations are vibrant and beautifully detailed, perfectly complementing the text. The writing itself is clear and easy to follow, making it accessible for a wide range of readers. I especially appreciated that both the text and artwork were created by Canadian Indigenous artists!

This is a gorgeous book! The illustrations are so pretty with vibrant colours. They will definitely catch kids attention! The poem is also very inspiring and I loved the message of connectivity.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful poem given even more life, more emotion by equally beautiful art. Telling a story about a struggle with identity. About how important it is to remember the past, and the ones that came before, as well as to look to the present and the ones here now. Obviously, I am not the target audience for this book as I'm neither a child nor Indigenous, but this is a wonderful, informative story with a great message that everyone should read.

This book really spoke to me! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. I hope that when this book is published, it will speak to other everyday, average, born and raised Canadians like myself. Our country is currently in crisis. Many Canadians are giving up hope for a bright future in our country. Some no longer trust our government, many no longer know and respect their next door neighbor. This is so different from the Canada I grew up in. There is a lot of hate and division among citizens. Recently, I have been devouring as many books as I can that can educate me about indigenous and Metis history in recent years. I want to know about the Canadians who were here before me. There is a hunger among my library patrons for education, whether they are discovering their heritage or they want to learn more about the rich history that our province is home to. I also am a firm believer that we are all on this earth for a reason and that we are part of one family, no matter the color of our skin or our country of origin. We can also learn from each others' stories. The line that really got my heartstrings was 'Every story is the seed of a thousand more'. This was such a great children's book! It sums up how I wish we all could come together, learn from our past, whether it be from history or the voices of our ancestors calling to us. Richard Wagamese, such a talented writer, was taken from us too soon. I'm sure he had more stories to share.

This simple children's book, written by one of Canada's best indigenous storytellers, almost had me in tears, it was so beautifully written in a way that children will have no problem understanding if their parents would take the time to share this book with them. It is masterfully illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. So many vibrant colours! This book would be an asset to any public library, school library, or personal home library. I look forward to seeing it circulate at the library I work at, when it is released! Let's fall in love with Canada all over again.

Canada is a lovely little story based on a poem by an Ojibway author and brightly illustrated by an Anishinaabe artist. The poem incorporates a lot of beautiful imagery about Canada and invites the reader to listen to their ancestors to discover things they have been missing.
There are lovely illustrations of different parts of Canada in addition to the pictures of spirits and ancestors who take care of our world and the Spirit world. The Canadian pictures show the relationship between Indigenous culture and the land. They show the past and present as well as the connection we have to land and each other, and encourage us to all think about our own stories.
As a kindergarten teacher in an Ontario school, I know the importance of exposing students to stories such as this one for them to gain a greater understanding of Indigenous cultures and stories. The invitations to think, listen, feel and discover throughout the story, allow the readers and listeners to explore their own feelings and backgrounds. Overall a lovely story perfect for early grades.

I really enjoyed this book. It starts off with a school assignment and leads to a reminder that we are made up of those who came before us. We our a part of our ancestors' journeys which includes traditions, languages, and places. The illustrations are beautifully done. I love the sentence- "Leave the greatest story that you can for those who come behind you." A wonderful reminder that what you do has an impact, no matter who you are.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a great book that I think will be extremely meaningful to so many young readers out there. The author clearly knew their stuff going into writing this book, and I felt that Wagamese also spoke straight from the heart. While I myself cannot personally relate to this book's central topic, I still noticed that it made some sort of impact on me as the reader. It's impressive that the author was able to make a book so touching, as it's not every day that you see a book with this specific quality. Lastly, since I have nothing bad to say about this book, the illustrations were utterly breathtaking!! The way the illustrator worked with opacity, color, and blend was absolutely stunning, and I think that no other artist's art style would have done this book justice except for this one artist. All in all, both the author and the illustrator put so much love and care into creating this book, and I know for certain that so many kids are going to fall in love with this masterpiece. Bravo!

The illustrations in this book are. absolutely. stunning! Every page is dynamic and full of colour. Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley's art brings Richard Wagamese’s poem to life in a way that’s engaging and accessible for younger readers. The visuals add so much depth and help younger readers connect with the words in ways they might not through the text alone. Even as an adult, I poured over every detail on each page. Beautiful.

I see this being a powerful read-aloud in the classroom. It opens the door to important conversations about Canadian identity and belonging with a focus on Indigenous voices. A beautiful, meaningful book that definitely earns a place on every elementary school shelf.

This is such a gorgeous picture book and a wonderful representation of indigenous cultures that make up Canada. The language is beautiful and the overall lesson was so powerful and inspiring. We are made up of our present and our past, and lives are connected through space and time.

Canada is a striking picture book that contains multitudes. The vivid visuals by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley slide off the page and into your heart, while the powerful words by Richard Wagamese burrow into your soul. It shines a powerful light onto the complicated issue of Canadian identity and the strong urge to be true to yourself & your past.

Absolutely exquisite.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Canada by Richard Wagamese is a picture book that asks young readers to find comfort in the fact that they are part of a family and people that came before them and that those connections will always exist.

One thing I really loved about this was that it happened with a school assignment asking students what makes them proud to be a Canadian and how complicated that question could be for Indigenous students. It makes it very relatable for readers who have struggled with living in the wake of colonization and what that has meant for them, their families, their culture, etc.

The art uses a lot of cooler shades with some warmer shades utilized here and there to really help make everything else pop. There is also some utilization of a more traditional Indigenous art style (I’m not familiar enough to say which people(s) it comes from) and some gorgeous two page spreads.

The very end includes a sign using the rainbow colors associated with the Pride flag, which is a subtle but excellent reminder that identities intersect and could be used to introduce young readers to the concept of Two Spirits. Other signs in those panels are calling for people coming together to stand for Indigenous rights and reminders that the land is sacred and we need to take care of it, all important points to start introducing in preschool and kindergarten.

I would recommend this to educators and librarians looking for ways to introduce environmentalism and climate change and how that affects the original stewards of North America and everyone else and young readers looking for comfort when the world seems unwelcoming

My daughter and I enjoyed reading Canada by Richard Wagamese. The poetry was beautiful and poignant, and it was written in a simplistic soft way that I think is really approachable and appropriate for kids. The theme of the poem/ story is really to ‘listen’, which I think is something we can all use practice and reminders to do!

We especially enjoyed seeing all the different languages way of writing / saying “listen.”

Thank you Tundra Books for the arc!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review. I promise my review is 100% accurate to me.

This may be the most touching and wonderful picture book I've had the pleasure to review. The Elders would be proud

BLUF: Beautiful illustrations, wonderful ode to First Nations in Canada without divisiveness but rather emphasizing inclusion and shared understanding.

Overall: 5🌟
Lesson: 5📍
Illustration: 5 🖌️

Mom's Review:
I loved the author's lyrical style (written in English). It was lovely to read and listen to ("A" read it out loud as well). The whole family enjoyed the sense of bringing historically different cultures together, to share one another's responsibilities for caring of our Earth, to "leave the greatest story that you can for those who come behind you."

In a way, we see the Biblical Golden Rule re-written in a different form - and every single culture world wise has something very similar. It's wonderful to see a book for children really extolling the positive virtues of how we're all connected, we all need one another, because "nothing is truly separate." I've love to hear this in the original Ojibway (*immediately goes to a search engine to see if that exists!)

"A's" Review
The pictures were so pretty and I really liked reading about Ojibway ancestors and taking good care of our [Earth] land. Plants and animals are so important and I wish everyone cared about them as much as they should! I've asked to read this a few times and I know I'll read it again soon.

"C's" Review
The Ancestors were a little scary for me, but I did like that the story said we should all try to be friends [work together]!

Dad's Review
(Pending)

(Full Traveling Book Family reviews to come!)

A huge thank you to the late Mr. Richard Wagamese, talented Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, Swiftwater Publishing, & NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

All reviews are our own

Such a lovely book! I read it a few times already.
An adapted poem by Richard Wagamese is beautifully illustrated by Anishinaabe artist Mangeshi Pawis-Steckley.
The story is set around an Indigenous child who struggles with a school assignment about what makes him proud to be Canadian.
He relies on the strength of his ancestors presence and their soul to honor the past and look forward to the future in this pkace called Canada.
This should become a classic!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is a reminder of how the nation of Canada was formed and the indigenous people who have shaped it. It is a reminder of the importance of their contribution to Canada’s history and they still speak and shape the experiences of Canadian youngsters today. I enjoyed the imaginary of them still ‘speaking’ today as it’s a powerful reminder that history has enduring consequences for good and helped shaped who we are and what we enjoy today. I appreciate the challenge to write a story with our lives that will impact others tomorrow and even outlive us.

I wasn’t as keen as the emphasis on the spirit world as I think that could be confusing for children. However I did appreciate that they were trying to convey indigenous beliefs and that could be an interesting learning point to introduce others beliefs to children.

All in all I enjoyed this book & it’s powerful lesson and would recommend it to others.