Fire in Your Belly - Rebecca Lafond;Aly McKnight

A beautiful, poetic picture book about how the emotions we feel inside can connect us with our ancestors and give us courage for the future.

Late one night, a Cree girl's kookum (grandmother) tells her a bedtime story of how the world came to be. How long ago, embers fell from the sky and made all living things, big and small. And how, to this day, little pieces of the sky continue to live warm in our bellies.

With lyrical, flowing text and powerful watercolor illustrations, this uplifting story illuminates how that fire within connects us all from generation to generation and is fed with every emotion we experience: It glows from joy when we’re picking fresh summer raspberries, hisses when emotions are a fierce storm, smolders with anger, and ignites when our bellies fill with laughter while splashing in puddles.

Page by page, the girl learns how to appreciate and feed the embers with laughter and love, and to release feelings when they build like thunder by letting tears stream down like cleansing rain. She learns that the fire is what makes us strong and gives us courage, even when we doubt ourselves.

A traditional Indigenous story to treasure, Fire in Your Belly shares the universal message that we are forever connected to the ancestors who passed down the fire generations ago—and that we each continue to carry it to brighten all that is, ever was, and will be.

FIERY FEELINGS: Helping children understand, manage, and value their feelings from a young age is an essential part of social-emotional learning. This story serves as a reminder that it’s okay to feel intense feelings and how important they can be.

RADIANT READ-ALOUD: With roots in oral storytelling, this makes an engaging read-aloud. Children will be captivated by Rebecca Lafond’s writing, which feels as enchanting and refreshing as wind through the trees.

CLASSROOM APPEAL: This book offers a beautiful way to bring Indigenous history and culture into the classroom, showing kids that traditional stories are current and resonant, and inspiring them with a sense of strength and activism to carry them forward.

GORGEOUS GIFT: The warm, fiery illustrations are kindled by the beautiful story, making this picture book a heartwarming and healing present for anyone.

Perfect for: