Book Recommendations & Learning Resources

We are honoured to feature and share with you Joshua Whitehead's first novel and the 2021 CANADA READS WINNER, Jonny Appleseed . The book tells the intimate, compelling, heartbreaking yet inspiring story of a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer named Jonny Appleseed. The story focuses on Jonny's life as a young boy living on the reserve as well as his life as a young man living off the reserve in the big city. In the city, Johnny is trying to navigate through the challenges of life,

We are honoured to feature and share with you Jesse Wente's memoir 'Unreconciled'. Jesse's book is a call to action for education toward truth in order that the nation of Canada and Indigenous peoples can build a respectful and healthy relationship. It is a call to action for settlers of Canada to recognize how colonial attitudes and institutions still have huge impacts on Indigenous peoples. The books addresses many critical topics including the intergenerational trauma caus

We are honoured to feature and share with you Tasha Spillett-Sumner's New York Times and CBC Books bestseller ' I Sang You Down from the Stars'. This book beautifully illustrates a mother's deep love for her new baby and the importance of passing on traditional teachings and stories. The story brings readers on a journey as a mother prepares a medicine bundle for the arrival of her new baby. The sacred bundle holds important items which celebrate indigenous traditions and cul

Chapters4Change was founded on July 27, 2021. The very first book we featured on our website, and a huge inspiration for the creation of Chapters4Change, was Layla F. Saad's ' me and white supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor '. As we wrap up our book recommendations for year one, we feel it not only fitting, but also necessary to feature Layla F. Saad's ' me and white supremacy: Young Readers’ Edition’. This amazing book provides young peopl

We are honoured to feature and share with you Jessica Victoria's book ' From Why to Fly '. Jessica shares deeply about her own personal experiences and provides advice around mental health, disability, and LGBTQ+ identity. This book serves as a support tool for those experiencing similar life situations to those Jessica outlines, as well as an educational tool for loved ones to encourage understanding and acceptance. “My hope is that I reach more and more people in the future

We are honoured to feature and share with you Drew Hayden Taylor's 'Motorcycles & Sweetgrass'. The story opens with the readers following a mysterious and handsome stranger as he rides his 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle to Otter Lake, answering a call from an old friend to return there. Otter Lake is usually an uneventful Anishnawbe community, that is until this stranger arrives. With his arrival comes a series of strange, magical, and unexplained happenings which awaken Otter

We are honoured to feature and share with you Tasha Spillett-Sumner's graphic novel, Surviving the City (Vol. 2: From the Roots Up). In this sequel to Tasha Spillett’s graphic novel ‘Surviving the City’, the friendship and story of the lives of Dez and Miikwan continue. Dez is navigating through life as she grieves the passing of her grandmother, struggles to adapt to her group home, and learns to fully embrace her identity as a Two-Spirit person. Miikwan is also navigating t

We are honoured to feature and share with you Tasha Spillett-Sumner's graphic novel debut, Surviving the City (Vol. 1: Book 1 of 2), winner of the Indigenous Voices Award , alternate format and an In The Margins Top Fiction Novel for 2020 . In the story, best friends Miikwan (who is Anishinaabe) and Dez (who is Inninew) navigate through life as teenagers within an urban setting. Both deal with friendship, loss, and trauma. The story highlights the themes of womanhood and col

We are thrilled to feature and share with you Cathy Marie Buchanan’s most recent novel, Daughter of Black Lake. Like both of her previous novels, this story is brought to life through vivid imagery and attention to historic detail. Readers are transported to an ancient village which will soon be forever changed due to the imminent Roman influence. The book follows the lives of Devout as she is finding her place in the world and (set seventeen years later) her daughter Hobble

We are thrilled to feature Angeline Boulley's 'Firekeeper's Daughter'. The book follows Daunis Fontaine, an eighteen-year-old who has always struggled to find her place and identity within her family, hometown, and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. The book takes us on a journey of cultural education mixed with mystery and suspense as Daunis puts her dreams of college on hold to join the FBI. She uses her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down th

We are extremely excited to feature and share with you Anton Treuer's 'The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World'. This book follows one Ojibwe family through the four seasons of the year and the four seasons of life, sharing a modern view of traditional Ojibwe beliefs and practices including hunting, gathering, and harvesting. The book provides readers with a feeling of connection to the rest of the planet, educating readers about this rich and beau

We are thrilled to feature Sharon G. Flake’s The Life I’m In, sister novel (book 2 of 2) to Flake's award-winning debut novel, The Skin I’m In (book 1 of 2) . In The Skin I'm In , we saw into the life of Maleeka Madison, a seventh grader who was ridiculed and teased by Char and others because of her dark skin colour. Many readers were left at the end of The Skin I’m In wondering what happened to Char. Anyone who has watched a friend, relative, or even acquaintance suffer thro

We are thrilled to feature and share with you Emily Ladau's ' Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally '. This book serves as a friendly, practical, and intersectional handbook on the importance of understanding disability as part of the human experience and how we can better use our actions and voices to advocate for and support the disability community as disabled and non-disabled people alike. Ladau makes it clear that she is only one disab

Topics: Bullying, Insecurity, Self-Esteem, Support, Role Models, Friendship, Self-Expression, & Self-Acceptance. We are thrilled to feature Sharon G. Flake’s award-winning debut novel, The Skin I’m In , book 1 of 2 (Its sister novel, The Life I’m In , is also featured on our site). In this book, we meet seventh-grader Maleeka Madison who is taunted by the students in her class because of her homemade clothes and good grades, but mostly because of her dark skin. When Maleeka

Topics: Time travel/ Our ever-increasing consumerism/ Oblivion to the state of the planet, destruction of nature and art, and our ever-increasing use of plastic/ Our obsession with looking good to the point that we will let AI filters take over/ Politics/ How children will live in this toxic world. Trigger Warning: Extremely explicit content including sexual abuse and murder of children. We are happy to feature Lisa de Nikolits’ The Rage Room, a book Nikolits’ calls specula

Michelle Good was awarded the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada for this masterpiece. Five Little Indians is a national best-seller and winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award , the Amazon First Novel Awards , and the Kobo Emerging Author Prize . Good’s book takes us along on the hopeful and often devastating journey of five residential school survivors (Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie, and Maisie) as they try to move forward in life w

We are proud to feature Rob Sanders’ book Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag . This book tells the story of Harvey Milk and the creation of the Rainbow flag, with the help of his friend Gilbert Baker. The key values held within the pages of this story include equality, pride, hope, love, inclusion, and belonging. Harvey believed in equality for all, and the rainbow flag is now the most widely used flag for 2SLGBTQ+ social movements. Visit Children's Book Aut

A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome This is a raw and honest read exposing the impacts of society’s obsession with the idea of beauty and the unrealistic expectations it puts on individuals to try to reach ‘the golden ratio’. Ariel Henley's personal story of living with Crouzon syndrome (a craniofacial condition where the bones in the head fuse together too early, inhibiting the growth of the bones) with her twin sister Zan, shines a light on the harmfulne