You Hold Me Up

By: Monique Gray Smith, Danielle Daniel - illustrator

Narrated by: Heather Gould

Key Selling Points

• Simple but powerful text shows us the different ways we can respect and be kind to one another in this moving book.
• The author is well-known for her board and picture books. Her title My Heart Fills with Happiness was selected for the 2019 TD Grade One Book Giveaway.
• Danielle Daniel's book Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox was the winner of the 2016 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award (CCBC), a finalist for the First Nation Communities Read Award and the 2017 Blue Spruce Award, and was named one of NY Public Library's Most Notable Titles in 2015.
• You Hold Me Up has been translated into French, Plains Cree and Anishinaabemowin.

©2017 Monique Gray Smith (P)2024 Orca Book Publishers

Critic reviews

"Smith's text is heartwarming! And the illustrations, by Danielle Daniel, reflect Native people in the present day. Like My Heart Fills with Happiness, this new book by Smith is one that parents, grandparents, pre-school and elementary teachers, and librarians, will want to have on their shelves."―Pickle Me This blog

"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 art, the book presents an important reminder to readers to sustain and support one another. Highly Recommended."―IndiePicks Magazine