Phoenix Gets Greater

Publisher's Description (Second Story Press):
A powerful story about the importance of family acceptance. Phoenix loves to play with dolls and marvel at pretty fabrics. Most of all, he loves to dance—ballet, Pow Wow dancing, or just swirling and twirling around his house. Sometimes Phoenix gets picked on and he struggles with feeling different, but his mom and brother are proud of him. With their help, Phoenix learns about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people in Anishinaabe culture and just how special he is. Based on the childhood experiences of her son, Phoenix, Marty Wilson-Trudeau demonstrates the difference that a loving and supportive family can make. Available in a dual-language edition in English & Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe): https://secondstorypress.ca/2023-books/phoenix-ani-gichichi-i/phoenix-gets-greater

Author Biography:
Marty Wilson-Trudeau is an Anishinaabe Kwe writer originally from M’Chigeeng, Ontario, and a drama teacher at St. Charles College in Sudbury, Ontario. She is a mother to two wonderful sons, Brandan and Phoenix Wilson. Phoenix Wilson is an Anishinaabe actor and dancer and is very proud of who he is. Phoenix started dancing ballet at age three, grass dancing at age five, and acting at age six. He can be seen in such projects as Longmire, Letterkenny, and the critically acclaimed movie Wild Indian. Phoenix is currently in Grade 11 where he excels in all his classes and has ambitions of becoming a corporate lawyer. Megan Kyak-Monteith, from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, is an Inuk illustrator and painter. Graduating from NSCAD University in 2019, she currently lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In her illustrative projects, she works most often with Indigenous stories.

Resource type: Picturebook

Age recommendation: Kindergarten - 3

Keywords: Family & Friendship, Self-Esteem, Courage, Prejudice & Tolerance, LGBTQ2s+, First Nations & Indigenous Peoples, Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people, Anishinaabe culture

Year of publication: 2022

Publisher information: Second Story Press