Little Voice by Ruby Slipperjack

This is the heartwarming story of 10 year old Ray and her Grandmother. Ever since her father died when she was 8, Ray has withdrawn into herself. She feels as though she doesn't belong in her community nor within her family.

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She goes further north to live with a semi-traditional way of life with her Ojibwa grandmother. Her grandmother is a medicine woman of few words. Through her silence she teaches Ray to looks within herself for the answers she doesn't even know she is seeking.

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I really enjoyed the quiet, comfortable ways of the grandmother. She seemed so inviting.

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Near the end of the book, grandmother makes a long speech to Ray which I found very thought provoking, "I asked my hands what they did this winter. How did I make this world a better place for someone? I remember how my hands looked when I was a child, then when I was a young woman, when I had my children, and on and on through the years of my life. I remember and cherish the memories. I thank the Creator for all that and then I think of the days to come, and of you." Ms. Slipperjack is asking the reader to look at their life, to question whether they are the person they want to be now and who they want to be in the future.

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This book is part of a series "In the Same Boat" by Coteau Books that is aimed at Canadian children not of French or English Heritage. Other books in this series include:

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The Water of Possibility by Hiromi Goto

Lost in Sierra by Diana Vazquez

I have been in Danger by Cheryl Foggo

Andrei and the Snow Walker by Larry Warwaruk

Jason and the Wonder Horn by Linda Hutsell-Manning

This is my 13th book by a Canadian First Nations Author for the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge.