My Grateful Heart

Monique Gray Smith is an award-winning, bestselling author and public speaker. Her books cover a broad spectrum of ages, topics and emotions. Woven into all of Monique's writing and her speaking engagements is the teaching that Love is Medicine. Her books include Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, My Heart Fills With Happiness, You Hold Me Up, Lucy and Lola, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, Tilly and the Crazy Eights, When We Are Kind, I Hope, Dreaming Alongside and Kohkom's First Drum. She has also created the young adult adaptation of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Monique is Cree and Scottish. She lives with her family on the Traditional Territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and WSÁNEĆ Peoples.
Born and raised in the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne and now residing in Ottawa, Shaikara David is a versatile Indigenous visual illustrator. With experience in TV animation as a background painter and assistant art director, her work showcases a diverse skill set and a love of color and light. Inspired by Japanese anime, fantasy, Indigenous teachings and folklore, she explores cultural identity and representation. In 2023, she transitioned to full-time independent illustration, focusing on children's books and freelance projects. Shaikara's vibrant work celebrates her cultural heritage, weaving imagination and the natural world into captivating and resonant artworks.