Children's Fiction Emotions & Feelings
My Heart Fills With Happiness / Mi corazón se llena de alegría
- Publisher
- Orca Book Publishers
- Initial publish date
- Apr 2024
- Category
- Emotions & Feelings, Native Canadian, General
- Recommended Age
- 3 to 5
- Recommended Grade
- p to k
- Recommended Reading age
- 3 to 5
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781459840683
- Publish Date
- Apr 2024
- List Price
- $10.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781459840706
- Publish Date
- Apr 2024
- List Price
- $13.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
★ "A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and—yes—happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.
International speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote My Heart Fills With Happiness to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families, and to encourage young children to reflect on what makes them happy.
This bilingual book includes full text in both English and Spanish.
About the authors
Monique Gray Smith is a mixed–heritage woman of Cree, Lakota, and Scottish ancestry and a proud mom of twins. Monique is an accomplished consultant, writer and international speaker. Her first novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature. Monique and her family are blessed to live on Lkwungen territory in Victoria, British Columbia.
Monique Gray Smith's profile page
Julie Flett is an award-winning Cree-Metis author, illustrator and artist. She has received many awards, including the 2016 American Indian Library Association Award for Best Picture Book for Little You, written by Richard Van Camp (Orca Books), and the Canadian Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Award in 2015 for Dolphins SOS, written by Roy Miki (Tradewind Books) and in 2017 for My Heart Fills with Happiness, written by Monique Gray Smith (Orca Books), and was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature for her book Owls See Clearly at Night (Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer): A Michif Alphabet (L’alphabet di Michif). Her own Wild Berries (Simply Read Books) was chosen as Canada’s First Nation Communities Read title selection for 2014-2015.
www.julieflett.com
Lawrence Schimel is an award-winning author and anthologist who has published over 70 books in many genres, including four anthologies for Arsenal Pulp Press, all co-edited with Richard Labonte: The Future Is Queer (2006), the Lambda Award-winning First Person Queer (2007), its sequel Second Person Queer (2009), and I Like It Like That (2009). His other books include Lambda winner PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions about Gender and Sexuality (with Carol Queen), The Drag Queen of Elfland, The Mammoth Book of Gay Erotica, and Things Invisible to See: Lesbian and Gay Tales of Magic Realism. Formerly of New York, he has lived in Madrid, Spain since 1999.
Follow Lawrence Schimel on Twitter
Awards
- Short-listed, Periodical Marketers of Canada (PMC) Indigenous Literature Award - Children's Category
- Winner, BC and Yukon Book Prizes - Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize
- Commended, Bank Street College of Education Children's Book Committee Best Children's Books of the Year
- Commended, Girls of Summer Reading List - Picture Books
Editorial Reviews
★"A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and—yes—happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures, which features a cast of First Nations children and adults...Short, first-person phrases...revel in both solitary and familial activities...Flett’s (Little You) crisp-edged paintings blend universal and culturally specific experiences."
Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Este libro amarillo celebra las pequeñas alegrías de estar vivo. El texto sencillo y las ilustraciones en bloques de colores que representan a niños y adultos indígenas cantando, bailando y tocando tambores harán que los lectores más jóvenes imaginen con alegría lo que llena sus propios corazones de felicidad".
The New York Times
"It is a fantastic toddler book that celebrates family and heritage and would be valuable in any collection, especially those of First Nations heritage."
Raising Mom
“This small yellow book celebrates the little joys of being alive. The simple text and color-blocked illustrations depicting Native children and their grown-ups singing, dancing and drumming will leave the youngest readers gladly imagining what fills their own hearts with joy.”
The New York Times
“Charming in its simplicity, this is a great reminder of what can be found every day in our lives.”
School Library Journal
"[A] light, warm and utterly charming book...Highly recommended for families, parents of young children to share with them and to begin conversation and sharing about emotions."
Resource Links
"A celebration of aboriginal culture...but also universal in its message: sometimes it's the simplest things that lift our spirits highest...[The book] is beautiful in both its appearance and its intention."
Quill & Quire
