Starting in the 1800s and continuing into the 20th century, First Nations children were forcibly taken to government-sponsored residential schools to erase their traditional languages and cultures. This moving book tells of one such child, author Larry Loyie, and his last summer with his Cree tribe. It is a time of learning and adventure. He cares for an abandoned baby owl, watches his grandmother make winter moccasins, and sees her kill a huge grizzly with one shot. The sensitive text and Heather Holmlund's expressive illustrations beautifully capture the joy and drama of a First Nations family's last summer together. (From Groundwood Books)

As Long as the Rivers Flow won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction and First Nation Communities Read.

Larry Loyie was born in Slave Lake, Alta., and now lives in Edmonton. He also wrote Goodbye Buffalo Bay and The Gathering Tree.

Heather D. Holmlund is an artist and painter. She studied fine art and the visual arts at York University, specializing in watercolour.