• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 8
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Key Selling Points

• Every chapter uses an object from the Witness Blanket and the first-hand experiences of Survivors to tell a story about a residential school.
• Gives young readers insight into Carey's artistic process and how his relationship with the objects and stories informed his art.
• This is an extremely personal project as Carey Newman's father is a residential school Survivor.
• The authors previously collaborated on Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket.
• The Witness Blanket team traveled over 124,000 miles (200,000 kilometers), visited 77 communities and met over 10,000 people in every Canadian province and territory. Along the way, they gathered nearly 900 pieces of history that became the basis for the Blanket.
• The Blanket now lives at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, where the creation of a digital Witness Blanket is underway so that its stories can be shared with more people and communities across Canada.
• Includes a glossary and list of resources.
• The truth about residential schools is still being uncovered. In 2021 the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, and since then thousands more unmarked graves have been discovered across Canada at former residential school sites.
• In Canada, September 30 is recognized as Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, honoring the children that attended residential schools.

Carey Newman or Hayalthkin'geme is a multidisciplinary artist and master carver. Through his father he is Kwakwaka'wakw from the Kukwekum, Giiksam, and WaWalaby'ie clans of Fort Rupert, and Coast Salish from Cheam of the Stó:lo Nation along the upper Fraser Valley. Through his mother he is English, Irish, and Scottish. In his artistic practice he strives to highlight Indigenous, social or environmental issues. Carey was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017 and was named to the Order of British Columbia in 2018. With Kirstie Hudson, he co-authored Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of The Witness Blanket which was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Nonfiction. Carey lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Carey Newman's profile page

Kirstie Hudson is an editor and writer in Victoria, British Columbia. She was a reporter and producer with the CBC in Toronto, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Victoria. In her award-winning career as a journalist, Kirstie's work was recognized with a Jack Webster Award, Radio Television Digital News Association Awards and a Gabriel Award. As an instructor at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University, Kirstie shared her love of storytelling with students in writing, communications and journalism. She co-authored Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of The Witness Blanket with Carey Newman. In 2020, the book was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Nonfiction.

Kirstie Hudson's profile page

• Nominated, Red Cedar Book Award
• Nominated, Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards
• Winner, CBC Teacher Favorites Award
• Nominated, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
• Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Books List
• Commended, Children's Book Council Teacher Favorites Award 6th - 8th Grade
• Nominated, Forest of Reading Yellow Cedar Award
• Winner, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction
• Commended, United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List (OIB)
• Commended, Ontario Library association (OLA) Best Bets
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection
• Commended, OLA Best Bets Honourable Mention