What do you do when you are mocked every time you get on the school bus? In this case, the “Rez Kid” who is narrating the story, decides to talk to her elders, her mother, her grandmother, (her Nokhom) her auntie, and her grandfather (her Moshum). Each give her different advice. After mixing each bit of advice, such as to walk away, share her beading, share her plant medicines, and share the vegetable harvest, the narrator comes up with her own plan.


So, the next time she gets on the bus, and is insulted, she gets up, and tells the kids she is going to share her bannock, and passes it around. And they are all invited to come to the rez. She tells them about riding horses, growing her own food, making things. The kids eat the bannock, and actually get excited about seeing the land she lives on.

And she turns things around and says “I am a rez kid, and there is no better life than this.”


Such a sweet way to show how you can own an insult, and make it your own, claim it. This shows kids that there are other ways to live than the ways they are used to, and that differences are not wrong.


Beautifully illustrated picture book. Nicely written. I love how confident the narrator becomes .


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will be published on the 2nd of September 2025.

A beautiful story about a young girl who lives on the Rez, much to the amusement of her bully on the bus. When she shares the incident with her family members, each of them has a different bit of advice: share her beadwork, her medicine, her homegrown food -- or just turn and walk away. But the girl insists that she and she alone will figure out what to do.

In an empowering moment of confidence and kindness, she stands firm and proud in her identity as she invites them into her world. She's a Rez Kid and there's no one else she'd rather be!

With a resounding message of compassion and gorgeous illustrations, Rez Kid is a love letter to those who have grown up on the rez. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.