25. We Are Connected

What makes you feel connected? Whether it is with your family, the land, your heritage, or the guidance of your ancestors, you belong in connection with the world. Young readers will feel a deep sense of belonging when they hear from cherished authors at this cozy storytime. Adapting a poem by celebrated author Richard Wagamese, Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley invokes the powerful wisdom of the ancestors in Canada: We Are the Story. A parent teaches a child their heritage language and celebrates their roots in My Language Is a Garden, written by E.G. Alaraj with illustrations by Rachel Wada. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Haida Gwaii, Haida author Ḵung Jaadee explores the relationships that connect us across time and space in I am Connected. Grades 1–3.

Presented in partnership with Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

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Event Participants:

E.G. Alaraj

E.G. ALARAJ is the author of When Stars Arise and My Language Is a Garden. She grew up in the magical place that every child knows, where ideas look like pictures drawn from crayons, paint or ink and sound like stories from long ago and far away. She spent her childhood with her nose in storybooks, art books, music books, notebooks and trouble. She thinks trouble and imagination are best friends.

Ḵung Jaadee

ḴUNG JAADEE (Roberta Kennedy) is a professional Indigenous Storyteller, educator (BA and BEd) and published author who has been telling stories for 30-plus years across Canada. She belongs to the X̱aayda (Haida), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Tlingit, səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and is also part Hawaiian.

Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

MANGESHIG PAWIS-STECKLEY is a multidisciplinary Anishinaabe artist & a member of Wasauksing First Nation. He is an award-winning children's book illustrator & author whose work explores themes of language revitalization, ancestral knowledge sharing & memory.