If you need something beautiful and inspiring these days, Encounter by Brittany Luby and Michaela Goade is perfect for our isolating souls.

Encounter imagines a day and a meeting between Fisher and Sailor.  Fisher being Indigenous and Sailor being a visitor on Indigenous lands.  On this day, they share with each other, swim together and learn from each other.  Brittany Luby has imagined a positive encounter between an Indigenous person and a settler and reminds readers that at our hearts we are all the same. We know the history of settlers in Canada and how lands were stolen and Indigenous people displaced from their homes.  This book does not forgive the actions of the settlers but reminds us there can always be a path we can all walk together if we can learn from each other and understand that in our hearts we are not so different.

Michaela Goade delights readers with her brilliant colourful illustrations.  They fill the pages with detail and create an experience for readers to fully immerse themselves in the story.  

Take the time to read the author’s reflection and historical notes at the back of the book.  The notes help to further the reader’s understanding of the history behind the story and how we need to move forward into the future together, learning from our terrible history and forging a path together not only for ourselves but for the survival of the lands and oceans on Earth