Miya Wears Orange
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An essential story of healing for readers ages 6 to 8 by award-winning Plains Cree author Wanda John-Kehewin.
Miya Wears Orange by author Wanda John-Kehewin (winner of the prestigious Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize for Hopeless in Hope), is a beautifully illustrated children’s picture book that gently explores the complex feelings a young girl experiences as she learns the history of residential schools. Based on the lived experience of the author and her daughter, it serves as a vital tool for Social Emotional Learning (SEL), helping educators and parents foster emotional safety while introducing young minds to the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Miya loves her school, and she especially loves storytime. But one day, her teacher shares a painful history: a story about a little girl who was taken away to a residential school. The little girl wasn’t allowed to go home, her hair was cut, and she wasn't allowed to keep her favourite doll. She was separated from her family simply because she was Indigenous—just like Miya!
Miya worries the same thing will happen to her today. Her mom comforts her, explaining that Indigenous boys and girls are no longer forced to leave their families. While Miya is relieved, the weight of this history leaves her sad and confused. How can a child safely navigate these big feelings?
Perfect for reading on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this deeply moving and inclusive story models healthy coping strategies for children dealing with heavy historical truths. It answers a vital Call to Action for modern education, providing a bridge to discuss intergenerational trauma with empathy, care, and hope for a better future.
Wanda John-Kehewin
Wanda John-Kehewin (she/her/hers) is a Cree writer who uses her work to understand and respond to the near destruction of First Nations cultures, languages, and traditions. When she first arrived in Vancouver on a Greyhound bus, she was a pregnant nineteen-year-old carrying little more than a bag of chips, a bottle of pop, thirty dollars, and hope. After many years travelling (well, mostly stumbling) along her healing journey, she now writes to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. A published poet and fiction author, her first novel for young adults, Hopeless in Hope, won the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize and was named to USBBY’s Outstanding International Books list.
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