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Book Recommendations & Learning Resources
Chapters4Change 2026 Theme
Our 2026 theme is Growth & Reconciliation! This year, we’ll walk together through David A. Robertson’s 52 Ways to Reconcile and showcase inspiring books by Indigenous authors for adults, young adults, and kids—stories that spark reflection, learning, and action.
All the Little Monsters
Chapters4Change 2025 Theme: Mental Health and Wellbeing Blending humour, compassion, and unflinching honesty, acclaimed author David A. Robertson reflects on the daily challenges and quiet triumphs of living with chronic anxiety and depression in this book All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety . Through sharing the insights he has gained along the way, he seeks to remind others facing similar struggles that they are not alone. To the outside world, Robe
janicedesroches
Jan 142 min read
Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers' Edition
At Chapters4Change, we believe growth begins with courageous learning and reconciliation begins with listening. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) by Ojibwe author, educator, and scholar Anton Treuer offers young readers a powerful entry point into both. Written in a clear, accessible question-and-answer format, this book invites young people to engage honestly with questions many are curious about but unsure how, or w
janicedesroches
Dec 23, 20252 min read
52 Ways to Reconcile
Chapters4Change 2026 Theme: Growth & Reconciliation We are excited to share that the Chapters4Change theme for 2026 will be Growth & Reconciliation . With only approximately 13 Calls to Action considered complete, and only two of those having been completed in the past five years , the need for all Canadians to act on reconciliation remains urgent! Chapters4Change is specifically committed to Education for Reconciliation . As one way of living this commitment in the coming
janicedesroches
Dec 8, 20251 min read
Meet My Africa
We are thrilled to introduce Meet My Africa by the phenomenal storyteller and educator Ayo Wilson! This vibrant nonfiction book takes readers on a journey across the African continent—home to breathtaking landscapes, extraordinary wildlife, and a rich tapestry of languages, traditions, and communities. Through the voices of children who proudly share their cultures, readers are invited to celebrate both the uniqueness and the shared humanity that connect us all. From the rhy
janicedesroches
Oct 22, 20253 min read
Re-Storying Education
We are calling all educators to partake on a transformative journey of learning and re-storying our education systems using author, speaker, educator, and faculty at UBC Teacher Education Carolyn Roberts ' invaluable book entitled Re-Storying Education: Decolonizing Your Practice Using a Critical Lens . Roberts defines Re-Storying Education is a process of dismantling old narratives taught in education and rebuilding new narratives that include all the voices that have create
janicedesroches
Sep 10, 20252 min read
Full Bloom: A Coming Out Journey through Poems & Letters
Photograph Credit: Karen Rose Photography We are excited to introduce our very own Chapters4Change Co-Founder, Jenn Sheila’s (she/they) debut book Full Bloom: A Coming Out Journey through Poems & Letters. Full Bloom was released in June 2025 on Amazon. This deeply personal collection explores her coming out journey through poetry, letters, and song lyrics, all woven together through themes of identity, fear, liberation, and self-love. Jenn hopes the book will empower others i
Jenn Sheila
Jun 13, 20251 min read
The Noticorns
We are thrilled to introduce Devin-Leigh Hunter and Carl T. Madden’s book The Noticorns. The story brings the reader into the magical realm of Unicornia, where unicorns roam freely and where a special group of creatures, known as the Noticorns, also reside. The Noticorns boast eccentric hues, unique bodies, and an array of diverse traits, yet they are made to feel like outcasts and are subjected to bullying by the unicorns. However, fate has a distinctive journey in mind for
janicedesroches
Feb 27, 20242 min read
Honouring Black History Month
In honour of Black History Month, here are a few book recommendations with educational resources for elementary level and high school level students! Just click and explore! E lementary Level Books with Educational Resources I Am Enough by Grace Byers Don’t Touch My Hair! by Sharee Miller One Love by Cedella Marley based off of the iconic song by her father, the late Bob Marley A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee Beautiful You , Beautiful Me by Tasha S
janicedesroches
Feb 14, 20241 min read
This Is Not My Story by Ryan Uytdewilligen
We are thrilled to introduce This Is Not My Story written by Ryan Uytdewilligen and illustrated by David Huyck. T he story follows a writer and his main character who set out on an inventive search for the ideal plot. Ryan Uytdewilligen, with his distinctive sense of humour, ventures into metafiction and directly engages the reader, offering an enjoyable journey through various literary genres. This narrative provides a glimpse into the artistic process of writing, emphasizi
janicedesroches
Jan 24, 20242 min read
Honouring World Day for Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence
In honour of World Day for Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence on November 18, and Human Rights Day on December 10th, we would like to highlight some of our past book recommendations for you to consider further.
janicedesroches
Nov 29, 20231 min read
Our #1 Rated Literature Circle
Our #1 Rated Literature Circle With back to school on September 5, 2023 in Ontario, Canada, and World Teachers' Day on October 5, 2023, we are honouring all of the educators who have participated in, or are currently participating in, our 'Savvy Ally' Literature Circles. Your commitment to furthering your education and acting to create more equitable schools is an inspiration to all. We thank you for being the change! 100% of the royalties from the first year of sales of the
janicedesroches
Aug 28, 20233 min read
Honouring Pride Month
For June 2023, we are featuring four amazing 2SLGBTQI+ centred books for you to read at your leisure this pride month: 1) Disabilities Studies and the Environmental Humanities: Toward and Eco-Crip Theory featuring Eli Clare’s Notes on Natural Worlds, Disabled Bodies, and a Politics of Cure , 2) Merrick Pilling’s Queer and Trans Madness: Struggles for Social Justice, 3) Andil Gosine’s Nature’s Wild: Love, Sex, and Law in the Caribbean, and 4) Jeannie Gainsburg's newly release
janicedesroches
Jun 2, 20234 min read
The Medicine Wheel: Stories of a Hoop Dancer by Teddy Anderson
“From the dancer we learned that we’re better together, a big human family for now and forever.” We are excited to introduce Teddy Anderson’s book, “The Medicine Wheel: Stories of a Hoop Dancer.” This book encourages inclusion and belonging through the power of storytelling. In this story, a Mooshum (grandfather) is telling his grandson stories. Through these stories, other children from around the world also come to listen, and they learn the importance of embracing all cult
janicedesroches
Mar 4, 20232 min read
In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience by Helen Knott
We are extremely humbled to introduce Helen Knott's memoir, In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience. Helen offers her truth to readers as she shares accounts of addiction, sexual violence, intergenerational trauma, and the devastating effects these things have on one's life. Through her resilience, the love she holds for her child, and her drive to advocate for other Indigenous women and girls, Helen strives to find her way to happiness through a tough and painful journey
janicedesroches
Mar 3, 20231 min read
Beautiful You, Beautiful Me
We are honoured to feature and share with you Tasha Spillett-Sumner's new picture book, released October 15, 2022, Beautiful You, Beautiful Me. Like her first picture book, I Sang You Down from the Stars, this book beautifully illustrates the love between a mother and her child. In this book, a child named Izzy realizes she is different from her mother in several ways. This realization leaves Izzy feeling sad and confused because she longs to be beautiful in the ways she see
janicedesroches
Jan 6, 20232 min read
Tilly and the Crazy Eights
We are honoured to feature and share with you Monique Gray Smith's Tilly and the Crazy Eights. This amazing book was the winner of the 2019/2020 First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award. The book takes on a road trip with Tilly as she drives eight of her community elders ("the Crazy Eights") on a road trip to New Mexico to the Gathering of the First Nations Pow Wow. Each person is transformed along the way as they spend time together, each filling a piece of
janicedesroches
Jan 6, 20231 min read
The More We Get Together
Take Our Kids to Work 2022 works to ensure that young people are valued and heard with their ideas for transformative change within their communities being put into action! We had the pleasure of having Evan Desroches from Welland Centennial Secondary School join the Chapters4Change team today. Evan worked to help the team prepare for the Simcoe County Early Childhood Education Conference which we will be attending at the Nottawasaga Inn in Aliston Saturday November 5 from 9
janicedesroches
Nov 2, 20221 min read
Don’t Touch My Hair!
We are excited to feature Sharee Miller’s ‘ Don’t Touch My Hair! ’. The book is based around Sharee’s own experiences of feeling uncomfortable and disrespected when others would touch her hair without her permission. In the book, a young girl named Aria attempts to find ways to avoid the many curious hands that want to touch her hair. The book highlights the importance of respecting personal boundaries and asking permission. It also serves as a tool to empower young people to
janicedesroches
Oct 31, 20221 min read
So I Said to My Anxiety...
We are honoured to feature and share with you Jessica Victoria's book 'So I Said to My Anxiety...'. Jessica shares her knowledge about anxiety, drawing from her own personal experiences with anxiety disorder as well as knowledge gained through the psychology and mental health courses and training programs she has taken throughout the years. As founder of Stay Strong Collective , Jessica provides text-based anxiety and stress coaching services. This book serves as a tool for t
janicedesroches
Oct 31, 20222 min read
I Am Enough
We are extremely excited to feature one of our very favourite children's books, the New York Times bestseller 'I Am Enough' by actress, activist, and changemaking author Grace Byers. Grace drawn inspiration for this book from her own personal experiences as a multicultural, biracial CODA (Child of Deaf Adults). Grace was bullied throughout her childhood, and these experiences drove her to want to write a book which would empower young girls everywhere. ' I Am Enough' sends
janicedesroches
Sep 9, 20221 min read
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