Petits souliers

The author of the Governor General’s Award-winning bestselling book, On the Trapline, offers us a beautiful picture book about a boy’s journey to overcome the generational trauma of residential schools.

In the dead of night, when he should be sleeping, James tosses and turns in his bed. He asks himself big questions, like why we don’t get dizzy when the Earth spins. On nights like this, he follows the moonlit path to his mother’s room. They talk, then his mother takes him in her arms and they fall asleep like that.

One day, James’s kōkom takes him on a special walk with a large group of people. It’s called a walk, and this one ends in front of a large pile of objects: teddy bears, flowers, braided tobacco, and little shoes. Kōkom explains to James that it's a memorial to the Indigenous children who went to residential schools but never returned. He learns that his own kōkom was taken to one of those schools with her sister, who also never came home.

That night, James can't sleep and once again follows the moonlit path back to his mother's room.

Includes an author's note explaining the inspiration behind this book.