This Land Is a Lullaby

Winner of the 2025 Governor General's Literary Award, Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books

★“In warm, soothing language, a mother speaks to her infant, poetically describing their ancestral surroundings and reflecting on traditional Cree knowledge…Luxuriantly alive with glowing colors and textured patterns, Dumont’s (Onion Lake Cree Nation) exquisite pointillist illustrations resemble three-dimensional beadwork. This eloquent and insightful picture book (…) honors the enduring relationship between a child, their ancestors, and the land.” ― Booklist, starred review

As daylight fades to dusk and slips into darkness, this gentle lullaby celebrates the sounds of the Prairies and the Plains on a stormy summer's night.

From the hum of dragonflies to the drumming of thunder, with grasses swirling and the northern lights glimmering, This Land Is a Lullaby shares a song and dance―a gift from the ancestors that soothes children to sleep and reminds them of their deeply rooted connections to the land.

Written as a lullaby for the author's daughter and featuring striking pointillism artwork, this lush lullaby of the land honors the beauty of the Prairies and the Plains and the spiritual connection between Indigenous children, ancestors and their Traditional Territories.

Tonya Simpson is of Scottish and Cree ancestry. She is a member of Pasqua First Nation and was born and raised in central Alberta. Tonya is an anthropologist who loves to write stories that connect families with each other and the natural world around them. She is the author of Forever Our Home and This Land Is a Lullaby, winner of the Governor General's Literary Award. Tonya lives with her family at Pigeon Lake in Westerose, Alberta.

Delreé Dumont (Wâpiski Kihéw Esquao/White Eagle Woman) is a proud member of Onion Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan. She paints in the pointillism style, infusing her depictions of the natural world with her teachings and experiences as an Indigenous woman. She also creates smudge fans, dream catchers and pine needle baskets, and she is a traditional powwow dancer. Delreé lives and works at her home studio near Revelstoke, British Columbia.