I Hope

Poignant words from award-winning Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith about all the hopes adults have for the young people in their lives.

The hopes we have for the children in our lives are endless. We want our young people to thrive and experience all that life has to offer, but we also feel protective of them. Using simple but powerful statements, Monique Gray Smith delivers a touching message about loving, nurturing, and wishing the best for our children. Paired with Gabrielle Grimard's warm and enchanting illustrations, the message in I Hope will resonate with all parents, grandparents, and caregivers.

Praise for Monique Gray Smith:

★“Joyful and tender...celebrates the activities that bring gladness through family and cultural connections.”―School Library Journal, starred review for My Heart Fills With Happiness

“Smith's text is heartwarming!”―Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature for You Hold Me Up

“Gentle…Notably centering Indigenous families and characters of color in personal and communal activities―and encouraging readers to evaluate their actions toward others.”―Publisher's Weekly for When We Are Kind

★“Smith tackles difficult and complex conversations with straightforwardness and compassion.”―School Library Journal, starred review for Speaking Our Truth

About The Authors:
Monique Gray Smith is a mixed-heritage woman of Cree, Lakota, and Scottish ancestry and a proud mom of twins. Monique is an accomplished consultant, writer, and international speaker. Her first novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature. Her books for young readers include When We Are Kind, You Hold Me Up, Speaking Our Truth and My Heart Fills With Happiness, which won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. Monique and her family are blessed to live on Lekwungen territory in Victoria, British Columbia.

Gabrielle Grimard has been drawing since she was young. Her passion for drawing and painting led her to pursue studies in fine arts and arts education at Concordia University. After she had her first child, she began her career as an illustrator. She is the illustrator of The Library Bus, which is a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist, and Stolen Words, which was a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year, and the winner of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award. She lives in Waterville, Quebec, with her family.