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Children's Fiction Values & Virtues

The Just Right Gift

A Story of Love

by (author) Katherena Vermette

illustrated by Irene Kuziw

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

    ISBN
    9781553795193
    Publish Date
    Nov 2014
    List Price
    $9.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781553798262
    Publish Date
    Oct 2018
    List Price
    $8.99

Classroom Resources

Download Teacher’s Guide

Where to buy it

Description

Migizi loves Gookom so much. He wants to let her know by giving her the perfect gift to cheer her up while she is in the hospital. The gift should be as sweet as her kisses and as warm as her smiles. He asks his family and friends for help, but none of his ideas are quite right. Can he find her the perfect gift?

In this touching story, a young boy tries to find the perfect gift to show his grandmother how much he cares about her. 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

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Road Allowance Era

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