You Hold Me Up

by Monique Gray Smith, Danielle Daniel (Illustrator)

Overview

This vibrant picture book, beautifully illustrated by celebrated artist Danielle Daniel, encourages children to show love and support for each other and to consider each other’s well-being in their everyday actions.

Consultant, international speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote You Hold Me Up to prompt a dialogue among young people, their care providers and educators about reconciliation and the importance of the connections children make with their friends, classmates and families. This is a foundational book about building relationships, fostering empathy and encouraging respect between peers, starting with our littlest citizens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459814479
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	291,997
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	140L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

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. Monique and her family are blessed to live on Lekwungen territory in Victoria, British Columbia.

Danielle Daniel is the author and illustrator of Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox, winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, a finalist for the First Nation Communities Read Award and the Blue Spruce Award and a New York Public Library's Most Notable Books of 2015. Danielle is currently working on two novels and completing an MFA in creative writing through UBC. She writes and paints in Sudbury, Ontario. For more information, visit danielledaniel.com.

Read an Excerpt

You hold me up when you comfort me
   When you listen to me
   When you respect me.

You hold me up

I hold you up

We hold each other up.

Editorial Reviews

"In simple words and simple illustrations these profoundly important messages are given to children. The sparsity of the words conveys the messages even more strongly."

Youth Services Book Review

"People of all ages can find something of value within the pages of Monique Gray Smith and Danielle Daniel's book…Smith has Cree and Lakota ancestry, while Daniel is Métis. With this book, they become quiet and understated—yet powerful—voices in an age of reconciliation. You Hold Me Up is simple, yet beautiful, subtle but thought-provoking. It contains critical messages about love, unity, and support. Through carefully chosen words and strong, colourful are, the book presents an important reminder to readers to sustain and support one another. Highly Recommended."

CM Magazine

"A seemingly simple picture book that conveys a valuable message for all ages…The distinctive and soft illustrations by Daniel enhance the positive message by Smith about the power of companionship, compassion, respect and togetherness…This quiet book has a deep beauty and a universal message. "

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award Jury

Warm illustrations help to expand the brief text.

The Horn Book Online

"Perfect for a shared storytime as well as a lap-sit reading session, the actions of each person emphasize community, togetherness, and mutual respect. While sharing is a universal concept, Daniel's illustrations bring specificity to the narrative…Just as in Smith's board book My Heart Fills with Happiness, readers will joyfully make connections between their own communities and the indigenous one depicted here."

IndiePicks Magazine

"Ideal for early readers by themselves, for lap-sitting, or as a read-aloud."

Canadian Literature

"You Hold Me Up is a gentle but effective way to introduce the topic of Reconciliation to students of all ages."

ETFO Voice

"You Hold Me Up is a welcome addition to the ongoing conversations around healing and rebuilding relationships…Gentle, relevant and never heavy-handed, this book serves both as a quiet lullaby and a starting point for discussions on empathy, community and wellness."

Canadian Children's Book News

"You Hold Me Up is a simply written book with a powerful message: we need each other…The story is simple enough that the youngest reader can read and understand; the vocabulary is not difficult or challenging for most readers. The book is an excellent way to start dialogue with children about ways we can show respect for one another and talk about how we treat each other. This book could certainly be used in lessons on reconciliation, manners, friendships, and relationships in general. It is an excellent book to use for reading aloud and prompting students to list examples of kindness and sharing. It would be a wonderful addition to any children's library."

Resource Links

"Smith's text is simple, but powerful, about the small and essential ways we all support each other…Daniel's illustrations have a playful approach, but are also nicely stylized and textured, with a collage effect and fine details, warm and familiar images of people together…Smith is writing about survival and resilience, about the strength and power that comes from the love we give each other."

Pickle Me This blog

A lovely meditation on compassion and respect...A strong sense of community runs through the poetic text and is warmly depicted in Daniel’s stunning watercolour paintings.

49th Shelf

11/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—This evocative picture book is a lovely meditation on kindness and respect. Simple declarative statements belie important cornerstones of humanity: "You hold me up when you comfort me"; "when you laugh with me"; "when you listen to me." Daniel's stylized watercolor paintings show children interacting in positive ways with peers, adults, and family members. Warm, gentle scenes include a rosy-cheeked boy sharing an apple with a younger friend, an elder and two children drumming and singing beneath a starry sky, and a little girl cradled in her mother's embrace. A strong sense of community runs through the poetic text and illustrations and is encapsulated in the final phrase, "We hold each other up." Dedicated to the "children, families and staff of Aboriginal Head Start programs," an author's endnote sheds light on the indignities and abuse suffered by generations of Indigenous Canadians. VERDICT Powerful and significant, this is a must-have addition to most collections. Perfect for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

2017-06-14
A simple recitation of the ways that people can be supportive of one another."This book was written in the spirit of reconciliation and is dedicated to the children, families and staff of Aboriginal Head Start programs." That is the dedication; at the end, there is a longer note about notorious Indian Residential schools, where, for over 150 years, indigenous children in Canada were humiliated and abused. In between, all the words and art offer a warm and positive message. Simple and pointed phrases are printed boldly on white or pastel backgrounds on half of each double-page spread, with stylized, bright, watercolor illustrations on each opposing page. Each brown- or tan-skinned face has cheeks with outlined, bright pink circles; other features are sweetly expressive lines of ink, sometimes including little hearts for mouths. Birds, flowers, and gaily patterned wallpapers add to a feeling of contentment and communal power. The image of an adult and two children, eyes closed, singing outside by moonlight and beating on drums, is especially strong, as is an illustration of two hugging children of different skin colors and hair types. The titular phrase "You hold me up," followed by simple words such as "when you listen to me," is used several times until the final pages, where it is replaced by "I hold you up" and "We hold each other up." A final, multigenerational picnic is lovely. Calming, positive, and serenely affirmative. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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