Circle of Love

In her vibrant picture book Circle of Love, Monique Gray Smith tells a story of effortless love and acceptance with the goal of providing the LGBTQIA2S+ character representation that was not present in stories when she was a child.

The story follows the perspective of Molly, a young child participating in many cultural practices at their intertribal community center during a feast. Throughout the celebration, Molly engages with many same sex couples as well as nonbinary members of the community, enjoying how each person’s talents and personality contribute to the event and the community as a whole. As Molly describes each activity, she follows with her emotional response, i.e. “when I help make the food offering, I feel honored”. With the repeating line “Love is Love” following each of Molly’s emotional responses, Gray Smith grounds the phrase in its simple emotional truth: that all expressions of selfhood and love are valid and beautiful.

Nicole Neidhardt’s illustrations swim in vibrant colours and utilize patterns or enlarged/recurring objects (for instance sweetgrass) to depict the emotional weight of the community connections at play. Both glossy and textured, Neidhardt’s images bring beauty and realism to each character and activity.

Before and after the story, Gray Smith provides explanatory notes fleshing out the context of indigenous cultural practices as well as information about the LGBTQIA2S+ identity and community and her mission statement in creating this picture book.