Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Children's Fiction Values & Virtues

Singing Sisters

A Story of Humility

by (author) Katherena Vermette

illustrated by Irene Kuziw

Publisher
Portage & Main Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2014
Category
Values & Virtues, Native Canadian, Siblings, Music
Recommended Age
3 to 5
Recommended Grade
p to k
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781553795209
    Publish Date
    Nov 2014
    List Price
    $9.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781553798200
    Publish Date
    Oct 2018
    List Price
    $8.99

Classroom Resources

Download Teacher’s Guide

Where to buy it

Description

Ma’iingan loves to sing and her family loves to hear her beautiful voice. Her little sister wants to sing just like Ma’iingan, but Ma’iingan doesn’t want her to. As rivalry erupts between the siblings, can Ma’iingan find the humility to share her talent with her sister?

In this relatable story, a young Anishinaabe girl learns to put aside her pride and sibling rivalry to share her love of singing with her sister. A pronunciation guide for the Anishnaabemowin words can be found at the back of the book.

Rich in culture and grounded in traditional knowledge, Katherena Vermette’s The Seven Teachings Stories series features themes of love, wisdom, humility, courage, respect, honesty, and truth. Contemporary Indigenous children explore the Seven Teachings of the Anishinaabe through stories of home and family that will look familiar to all young readers in these books for ages 3–5.

About the authors

KATHERENA VERMETTE is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses Company), won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her National Film Board short documentary, this river, won the Coup de Coeur award at the Montreal First Peoples Festival and a Canadian Screen Award.

Her first novel, The Break, was a national bestseller and won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award; the Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Young Adult Literature; and three Manitoba Book Awards. It was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and CBC’s Canada Reads. She is also the author of the children’s picture book series The Seven Teaching Stories and recently published the first book, Pemmican Wars, in the young adult book series A Girl Called Echo. Ms. Vermette’s second book of poetry, river woman, is forthcoming in the fall of 2018 from House of Anansi Press.

Katherena Vermette's profile page

Irene Kuziw graduated from the University of Manitoba School of Art. Over the years, she has worked in galleries, museums, and schools. As a freelance artist, she has been commissioned for countless portraits and illustrations, and her work has been exhibited in numerous art shows. After taking early retirement and moving to the Interlake region of Manitoba, Irene is now able to devote her time to doing what she loves – drawing. Always seen with a pencil in her hand, she explores the abstraction of reality, whether it be the human face or the animal spirit.
 

Irene Kuziw's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Katherena Vermette’s The Seven Teachings Stories series is a collection of books that holds all the qualities children’s literature can have; her tales are educational, joyous, vivid, and have an irresistible cadence. But the stories have something more. Rich in culture and traditional knowledge, Katherena’s series addresses important topics—such as the residential school system—with the very teachings the series embodies: love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility, and truth.

David A. Robertson, author When We Were Alone

Other titles by

A Girl Called Echo Omnibus

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Scott B. Henderson
colorist Donovan Yaciuk

Road Allowance Era

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Scott B. Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk

Northwest Resistance

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Scott B. Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk

This Place

150 Years Retold

by (author) Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, David A. Robertson, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette & Chelsea Vowel
illustrated by Jen Storm, Tara Audibert, Kyle Charles, G.M.B. Chomichuk, Natasha Donovan, Scott B. Henderson, Andrew Lodwick, Scott A. Ford, Donovan Yaciuk & Ryan Howe
foreword by Alicia Elliott

Red River Resistance

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Scott B. Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk

The Girl and the Wolf

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Julie Flett

Pemmican Wars

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Scott B. Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk

Amik Loves School

A Story of Wisdom

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Irene Kuziw

Misaabe's Stories

A Story of Honesty

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Irene Kuziw

What is Truth, Betsy?

A Story of Truth

by (author) Katherena Vermette
illustrated by Irene Kuziw

Other titles by