My Heart Fills with Happiness / Nijiikendam

★ "A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and--yes--happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.

International speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote My Heart Fills with Happiness to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families, and to encourage young children to reflect on what makes them happy.

Orca Book Publishers is proud to offer this picture book as a dual-language (English and Anishinaabemowin) edition.

Monique Gray Smith is a mixed-heritage woman of Cree, Lakota and Scottish ancestry. 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 picture book My Heart Fills with Happiness won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize and was selected as the TD Grade One Giveaway Book for all first-grade students in Canada in 2019. Monique and her family are blessed to live on Lekwungen territory in Victoria, British Columbia.

Julie Flett studied fine arts at Concordia University in Montreal and Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver. She won the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature for her work on When We Were Alone by David Robertson, and her book Birdsong won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. She is the three-time recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Award for Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet, Dolphin SOS and My Heart Fills With Happiness. Julie is Cree and Métis and lives in Vancouver.

Angela Mesic currently teaches the first year Anishinaabemowin course at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and provides online long-distance learning for Yale University. She obtained her bachelor's degree in the field of psychology at UWM and is currently working on a master of community psychology at Alverno College. Angela has a strong interest in research focused on the psychology of learning and curriculum development. Through the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education at UWM, she assists the director, Dr. Margaret Noodin, in making significant revisions to language curriculum, and handles curricular queries from various internal and external partners, including Indian Community School, several colleges and universities throughout the United States, and tribal communities.