Descriptions, Reviews, etc.
Description:
From the bestselling and Governor General's Award-winning author of On the Trapline comes a beautifully told and comforting picture book about a boy's journey to overcome generational trauma of residential schools.
Deep in the night, when James should be sleeping, he tosses and turns. He thinks about big questions, like why we don't feel dizzy when the Earth spins. He looks at the stars outside his bedroom and thinks about the Night Sky Stories his kōkom has told him. He imagines being a moshom himself. On nights like these, he follows the moonlit path to his mother's bedroom. They talk and they cuddle, and they fall asleep just like that.
One day, James's kōkom takes him on a special walk with a big group of people. It's called a march, and it ends in front of a big pile of things: teddy bears, flowers, tobacco ties and little shoes. Kōkom tells him that this is a memorial in honor of Indigenous children who had gone to residential schools and boarding schools but didn't come home. He learns that his kōkom was taken away to one of these schools with her sister, who also didn't come home.
That night, James can't sleep so he follows the moonlit path to his mother. She explains to James that at residential school when Kōkom felt alone, she had her sister to cuddle, just like they do. And James falls asleep gathered in his mother's arms.
Includes an author note discussing the inspiration for the book.
Review Quotes: A 2025 Heather's Pick
A Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Book for Kids & Teens, Spring 2026
Shortlisted for the 2026 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize
Shortlisted for the 2027 Chocolate Lily Award
Shortlisted for the 2026 Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award
PRAISE FOR Little Shoes
"Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation) sensitively approaches this history, never explicitly describing the horrors of residential schools but instead leaving space for adults to grapple with youngsters' questions in their own ways. Though he doesn't provide easy answers, it's clear that familial love keeps this child buoyed. Suffused with pinks, icy blues, and deep indigos, the glowing, cartoon-style digital illustrations from McKibbin (Ojibwe) depict the ancestral bonds that keep James rooted. Honest yet age-appropriate and deeply uplifting."
--Kirkus Reviews "Cree author Robertson reteams with Ojibwe, Yoeme, and Irish artist McKibbin (
The Song That Called Them Home) for this work that honors children who did not return from residential schools. . . . James and his mother's musing on intergenerational story-sharing further contribute to themes of connection and loss in this emotional work."
--Publishers Weekly "[Robertson and McKibbin] have taken on the weighty task of presenting a catastrophic loss to young readers, but also offering hope and determination. With poetic text and images of family life that are both familiar and mystical in tone, they have achieved this goal. . . . The honesty of
Little Shoes is an antidote to fear."
--Imaginary Elevators "[A] big story about generational trauma of residential schools [which] focuses on the comfort that comes from family. Maya McKibbin evokes comfort and discomfort, as well as affection and thoughtfulness, with great sensitivity. . . . [A] great discussion starter for families and classes about residential schools, about Every Child Matters, and about asking questions. But it will also inspire understanding and empathy for that which has happened so that tragedies like residential schools are not repeated."
--CanLit for Little Canadians "
Little Shoes is a sensitive, age-appropriate introduction for children to the sad history of residential schools."
--The Banner
