January/February 2023: Young Readers

For January/February 2023 and in honour of Black History Month (February), The REDress Project (Weeklong display of red dresses at Brock University from Feb. 14-20 to remember MMIWG & 2SLGBTQQIA+ people) and World Day of Social Justice (February 20), 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 sees her mother's beauty. However, Izzy's mama helps her discover that each person is beautiful in their own unique ways.

"You’re part of me, and I’m part of you. I’m beautiful like me, and you’re beautiful like you."

~Tasha Spillett-Sumner (Beautiful You, Beautiful Me)

Order a Copy

Educational Resources

Click the link below to download and complete our fun activity to share about a beautiful person in your life!

A Beautiful Person in My Life

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Download PDF • 119KB

About the Author

Tasha Spillett-Sumner is a celebrated educator, poet, author, speaker, and emerging scholar who is currently working toward her Ph.D. in Education through the University of Saskatchewan, the same university where she holds a Vanier Canada Award. She is a dedicated advocate for the protection of Indigenous women and girls as well as land and water defense and an active member of Manitoba’s Indigenous community. Her research focuses on amplifying the voices of Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirt People to bring justice for MMIWG2S. Tasha’s Inninewak (Cree) and Trinidadian bloodlines bring her the strength and power to fight against colonialism through the work she does. As an educator, Tasha holds a teaching philosophy which honours her cultural knowledge and supports the cultural identities of her Indigenous students. Creating inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments for students is extremely important to Tasha. In addition to her work within the classroom, Tasha is very active outside of the classroom in the development of Indigenous Education polices and curriculum. As well, she has served as a mentor in the Sisters Circle, an after-school program for Indigenous girls. In the past, she served as a member of the Manito Ahbee Festival board of governors where she assisted in the formation of the annual Education Days, an event where youth, Indigenous leaders, and cultural knowledge keepers from the community join together to share, learn, and celebrate Indigenous ways of being. Tasha was previously the chair of the Miss Manito Ahbee Youth Ambassador which gathers in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Tasha Spillett-Sumner’s Website

Existence as Resistance | Tasha Spillet | TEDxUniversityofWinnipeg

Interview with Tasha Spillett-Sumner

April 3, 2022 (In Honour of International Children's Book Day)