Shi-shi-etko just has four days until she will have to leave her family and everything she knows to attend residential school. She spends her last precious days at home treasuring and appreciating the beauty of her world — the dancing sunlight, the tall grass, each shiny rock, the tadpoles in the creek, her grandfather's paddle song. Her mother, father, and grandmother, each in turn, share valuable teachings that they want her to remember. Shi-shi-etko carefully gathers her memories for safekeeping.

LaFave's richly hued illustrations complement Campbell's gently moving and poetic account of a child who finds solace around her, even though she is on the verge of great loss — a loss that native people have endured for generations because of Canada's residential schools system. (From Groundwood Books)

Nicola I. Campbell is an author of Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx and Métis descent, from British Columbia. Her stories weave cultural and land-based teachings that focus on respect, endurance, healing and reciprocity.

Kim LaFave is a painter and illustrator living in Roberts Creek, B.C.

Campbell and LaFave co-created Shi-shi-etko and its sequel Shin-chi's Canoe.