Monthly Highlights
Each month, FOLD Kids highlights one picture book and one middle grade or young adult title by a marginalized Canadian author. You can find past years’ Book-of-the-Month picks at the bottom of this page.
Previous years’ FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month picks
January: Middle Grade
ABOUT I WON’T FEEL THIS WAY FOREVER
It’s the summer of 1989, and Mia is on her own—adjusting to life without her ex-best friend, Lara.
Summer vacation starts off well enough as Mia binges MuchMusic and learns how to jar fish with her aunty and uncle. Then her grandma starts feeling unwell. At first, Mia isn’t too worried, but when a call comes in from the clinic to say her grandmother has to go to the hospital in Vancouver, everyone realizes this is serious.
Mia and her mom and aunties head to the city to be by her grandmother’s side. Mia mostly ping-pongs from the hospital to the motel, but she also gets to see some of the city and eat (too much) takeout. She even joins a basketball camp at the Friendship Centre, where she meets a teen coach who inspires her to get back into the game she loves and delve deeper into what it means to be Indigenous. As time passes, Mia’s grandmother’s health doesn’t improve, and she has to face the fact that her beloved grandma might not get better.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kim Spencer is an award-winning, bestselling author. Her debut novel, Weird Rules to Follow, received a Kirkus starred review and was a 2023 Governor General’s Literary Award finalist. The book won multiple awards, including a 2023 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, a 2023 Jean Little First-Novel Award and a 2024 Pacific Northwest Book Award. It was also on the IBBY 2024 Honour List and the USBBY Outstanding International Books List in 2023. Kim is from the Gitxaała Nation and lives in northwest BC.
January: Picture Book
ABOUT LABRADOR SKIES
Hush my sweet one, close your eyes,
let me tell you a story of the Labrador skies.
This poem, written by Labrador Inuit author-illustrator Kayla Williams, takes readers on a lyrical journey through the skies of Labrador, showcasing all the beauty that makes “the Big Land” unique.
From snowmobiles gliding through silent forests to the snowy crunch of fur mukluks on the ice, the sights and sounds of Labrador are lovingly recreated for young readers.
This is our home of Labrador, the most beautiful place we could be!
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ABOUT THE CREATORS
Kayla Williams is a mixed Inuk artist, author, and designer from Goose Bay, Labrador. Her father’s family is Nunatsiavut Inuit, and her mother is Scottish/French. She spent many of her summers growing up on the coast of Labrador in Cartwright with her grandmother, connecting to her culture and learning how to live off the land. She writes and illustrates children’s books that celebrate Indigenous identity, ensuring young readers see themselves in stories. She also paints murals that reclaim Indigenous narratives and brighten public spaces in Labrador. Through her work, Kayla shares the beauty and resilience of Labrador’s people. When she’s not creating, she’s raising her two children and running her artistic business, Big Land Design.
Thamires Paredes lives and works as a freelance illustrator in Brazil and has a great passion for telling stories through her art. Her main focus is on editorial illustration, books, and advertising. She has a special love and affection for the universe of illustrations aimed at children and youth.