Circle of Love

by Monique Gray Smith, Nicole Neidhardt (Illustrator)

Overview

Everyone is welcome in the circle.

In this warmhearted book, we join Molly at the Intertribal Community Center, where she introduces us to people she knows and loves: her grandmother and her grandmother’s wife, her uncles and their baby, her cousins, and her treasured friends.

They dance, sing, garden, learn, pray, and eat together. And tonight, they come together for a feast! Molly shares with the reader how each person makes her feel—and reminds us that love is love.

Through tender prose and radiant artwork, author Monique Gray Smith (Cree/Lakota) and illustrator Nicole Neidhardt (Diné) show how there is always room for others in our lives. Circle of Love is a story celebrating family, friends, community, and, most of all, love.

Includes an author’s note, contextual notes, and glossary. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063078703
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/12/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	652,585
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Monique Gray Smith is the award-winning and bestselling author of nine books for readers of all ages. She is Cree, Lakota, and Scottish and the mother of teenage twins. An inspirational, sought-after speaker and consultant, she lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Nicole Neidhardt is Diné (Navajo) of Kiiyaa'áanii clan. She grew up and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Tewa territory. She has a Master of Fine Arts and works in a variety of media, including book illustration, mylar stenciling, installation, and mural painting and design.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2024

At the intertribal community center—where, repeating phrases note, “love is love”—an Indigenous child gathers with community and family for a feast in this warmly inclusive picture book. As the event progresses, emotionally aware lines detail how Molly feels. “When Kôhkom and her wife, Kôhkom Raven, sing a welcome song, I feel connected”; reading books to babies results in a feeling of kindness; and watching Molly’s uncles play with their baby reveals an experience of love. Further activities include artistic activities, time spent outside, and Native traditions (“When I smell the sweetgrass burning, I feel peace. When I watch my parents prepare for ceremony, I feel respect”). Via Molly’s iterative first-person lines, two-spirit Cree/Lakota author Smith creates a loving environment with plentiful queer representation. In digital illustrations, two-spirit illustrator Neidhardt, who is Diné, uses bold, bright colors to convey the celebration as well as the love that surrounds the intersectionally inclusive community. An author’s note concludes alongside more about community centers, Indigenous cultural practices, two-spirit identity, and more. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Via Molly’s iterative first-person lines, two-spirit Cree/Lakota author Smith creates a loving environment with plentiful queer representation. In digital illustrations, two-spirit illustrator Neidhardt, who is Diné, uses bold, bright colors to convey the celebration as well as the love that surrounds the intersectionally inclusive community." — Publishers Weekly

A warm-hearted, welcoming book...It is indeed a huge, joyous feast. A must-have for every balanced picture book collection. — School Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

★ 06/28/2024

PreS-Gr 3—A warm-hearted, welcoming book that introduces readers to the term tawâw, which means much more than "there is always room." In Molly's neighborhood, the urban intertribal center is her circle of love where everyone is welcome and included. All persons are accepted; all persons belong and are loved. Molly celebrates with her grandmothers, her aunts and uncles and her entire circle. It is indeed a huge, joyous feast. Colorful, joyful illustrations are heartfelt and show everyone singing, celebrating, eating, and dancing. It's a positive, lovely picture book highlighting belonging, equity, culture, community, inclusiveness (LGBTQIA+, Native American, urban), and love. In fact, "love is love" is repeated throughout the book to reinforce positive respect for all. The author is Cree/Lakota and the illustrator is Diné; the book includes a glossary. VERDICT A must-have for every balanced picture book collection.—Pamela Thompson McLeod

School Library Journal

2024-01-20
A young Indigenous girl feels deeply connected to her community.

In the foreword, Cree/Lakota/Scottish author Smith discusses tawâw, a nêhiyawêwin (Cree) word meaning “there is always room.” This value is at the heart of her story, told from the perspective of young Molly. Molly describes the various emotions she feels as she interacts with those around her: “When Kôhkom and her wife, Kôhkom Raven, sing a welcome song, I feel connected.” “When my uncles and I play peekaboo with their baby, I feel love.” Molly and family, friends, and elders gather at an intertribal community center for a feast. Together, they prepare for a ceremony, make a food offering, and share bannock and soup. Queer and gender-nonconforming relatives figure prominently in Neidhardt’s (Diné) vibrant images; Molly’s community is lovingly portrayed as one that includes people with many gender expressions, skin tones, and styles of dress, and the words “love is love” appear throughout the book’s colorful spreads. This is a beautiful and moving glimpse into the rich intersections of Indigenous cultures and the Native queer and trans people who co-create them. Backmatter includes an author’s note in which Smith reflects on her own identity as a two-spirit person, a glossary, and information on the importance of Native community centers and Indigenous LGBTQ+ people.

A celebration of community, queer Native families, and Indigenous joy. (note from Heartdrum author-curator Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews