My Heart Fills With Happiness

Native American Heritage Month

A selection of pivotal works by Indigenous authors.

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 board 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.

"A celebration of aboriginal culture...but also universal in its message: sometimes it's the simplest things that lift our spirits highest...[The book] is beautiful in both its appearance and its intention." Quill & Quire

"A comforting board book offers young children the opportunity for reflection, and for affirmation, too. Moments of happiness tucked into each and every day celebrated here include time with family, self-expression, and the natural world." Cooperative Children's Book Center

"A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and — yes — happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures, which features a cast of First Nations children and adults." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

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. 

Julie Flett studied fine arts at Concordia University in Montreal and Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver. She received the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize and was nominated for the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature for her book Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet / Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer: L'alphabet di Michif. Julie is Cree-Métis and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.