Every Child Matters

This year, 2023, marks the 10 year anniversary of the Orange Shirt Day - Every Child Matters movement and to mark the occasion, Phyllis Webstad as created a new book Every Child Matters illustrated by Karlene Harvey.

If you don’t yet know Phyllis’ story, not only does she explain about how Orange Shirt Day came to be but she also describes life for Indigenous people before, during and after the Residential School system. In simple, easy to understand language, she illustrates for readers the reasons behind the movement and the true meaning of Every Child Matters.

I love the flow of the words from page to page. Phyllis never rushes and readers can appreciate the pace of the story as well as the significance of each word. She doesn’t over explain or over use her words. The message is simple and to the point making it incredibly powerful for young readers. Meant for readers ages 6 and up, it is the perfect addition to her Orange Shirt library of stories. She generously continues to share her story in different ways to captivate different ages of readers to ensure that we don’t forget the atrocities of the Residential School system and to prevent the same mistakes again.

This story is being published simultaneously in English and in French to ensure its wide acceptance as a teaching tool for this coming fall. I would also love to see it published in Indigenous languages or dual language formats as well.

Not to be missed is the teaching guide that is available through Medicine Wheel Publishing. If you are choosing to use this book as a teaching tool in a classroom, please make use of the teaching guide. It is carefully prepared by educators and approved by Phyllis Webstad. By using the accompanying teaching guide, we can ensure that we are sharing this story and conversations around the content in a respectful way.

Karlene Harvey’s illustrations are full of love. The joy that exudes through the illustrations before and after residential school reminds readers of the resilience of Indigenous People. The illustrations highlighting the time in Residential School are necessarily dark and sad truly highlighting how horrible the experience was and how devastating for families. Karlene Harvey captures the joy with the hardships in perfect balance, holding the readers interest.