INTRODUCTION TO INDIGENOUS CULTURE: In a welcoming way, the story introduces all readers to Indigenous traditions, illustrating customs and defining Cree phrases along the way.

FATHER’S DAY GIFT: This is a celebration of grandfathers and fathers and the love and teachings they pass on.

GORGEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS: Julie’s evocative collage art beautifully conveys the natural world and the connections between people.

AUTHENTIC VOICES: Both David and Julie have Indigenous backgrounds and had family members who lived and worked on a trapline.

BESTSELLING AND ACCLAIMED TEAM: David and Julie are the creators of the critically acclaimed When We Are Alone, winner of a Governor General’s Award, Canada’s most prestigious literary award

PERSONAL CONNECTION: Backmatter includes notes from the author and illustrator about their personal connections to the story.

DAVID A. ROBERTSON’s books include the Governor General Literary Award—winning When We Were Alone (McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People, TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award finalist, Indigenous Literature Award finalist), Will I See? (Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Award, Graphic Novel Category), the YA novel Strangers (Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction), and the adult novel The Evolution of Alice (Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, Inuit Literature finalist). David also won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer in 2015. David educates as well as entertains through his writings about Indigenous Peoples, reflecting their cultures, histories, communities, as well as illuminating many contemporary issues. David is a member of Norway House Cree Nation. He lives in Winnipeg.

Author Residence: Winnipeg, Manitoba

JULIE FLETT is a Cree-Métis author, illustrator and artist. She has received many awards including the 2017 Governor General Literary Award for her work on When We Were Alone by David Robertson (High Water Press), the 2016 American Indian Library Association Award for Best Picture Book for Little You by Richard Van Camp, and she is the three-time recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Award for Owls See Clearly at Night; A Michif Alphabet by Julie Flett, Dolphin SOS by Roy Miki and Slavia Miki and My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith. Her own Wild Berries was featured in The New York Times and included among Kirkus's Best Children's Books of 2013. Wild Berries was also chosen as Canada's First Nation Communities Read title selection for 2014-2015.

Illustrator Residence: Vancouver, British Columbia

WINNER of the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature — Illustrated Books!

Named one of School Library Journal’s Caldenott Books (2021)
A CCBC Best Book for Kids and Teens, Fall 2021 — Starred Pick
A Horn Book 2021 Best Kids Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids (2021)
A Canadian Children’s Book Centre Favourite Book of the Year (2021)
A Quill & Quire Kids’ Book of the Year (2021)
An American Indians in Children’s Literature Best Book of 2021
An Evanston Public Library Blueberry List pick

“An outstanding contribution to the literature about family, intergenerational friendship, remembrance, community, Indigenous experience, and more.”  —STARRED REVIEW, The Horn Book

“Robertson’s text is as spare as Flett’s artwork, leaving plenty of space for readers to feel the emotions evoked by both.” —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

“A deeply affecting journey of memory and history.” —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

“This second collaboration between the Governor-General’s Award-winning writer-illustrator team — who share common Cree ancestry — focuses on the connection between a boy and his moshom (grandpa) as they travel by plane, foot and boat to the northern wilderness, where a young moshom once lived off the land with his family.” —Globe and Mail

“There are many lessons to be learned in this gentle story about intergenerational respect and relationships, both with people and the land.” —Canadian Children’s Book Centre

“[A] powerful story well told in an understated manner.” —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“On the Trapline is a stunning picture book that highlights Indigenous values, including the deep connections to family and the land.” —Mutually Inclusive