LITTLE SHOES

An Indigenous child confronts the legacy of boarding schools with the support of his mother and grandmother.

James’ head is so full of questions, on everything from gravity to the constellations, that he can’t sleep, but each night his loving mother soothes him, and the two fall asleep snuggled up together. He’s also bolstered by thoughts of his Kōkom’s (Grandmother’s) ancestral wisdom; proud of his rich heritage, James is eager to pass down her stories to his own grandchildren. One evening, he and Kōkom attend a demonstration honoring the Native children forced to attend abusive state-sponsored boarding schools; James learns that his grandmother went to one of these institutions, as did her sister. Gazing at dozens of pairs of little shoes—memorials for those who, like Kōkom’s sister, didn’t survive—he’s reminded that children like him faced danger and even death. That night, he comes to his mother with a truly difficult question: Who comforted Kōkom and her sister when they were frightened in the night? Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation) sensitively approaches this history, never explicitly describing the horrors of residential schools but instead leaving space for adults to grapple with youngsters’ questions in their own ways. Though he doesn’t provide easy answers, it’s clear that familial love keeps this child buoyed. Suffused with pinks, icy blues, and deep indigos, the glowing, cartoon-style digital illustrations from McKibbin (Ojibwe) depict the ancestral bonds that keep James rooted.

Honest yet age-appropriate and deeply uplifting.