I recently read This is Orange, and it got me wondering what other picture books out there were about orange. (The idea of a book built around not many colors, but just one, surprised me.) So, I went looking at my library and found Wanda John-Kehewin’s 2025 picture book Miya Wears Orange.
Miya Wears Orange. is neither as well-written nor as beautifully illustrated as This is Orange, but is more important and powerful. It tells the story of Miya, short for Miyasiwin, a Plains Cree name that means “beauty.” Miya loves her school…until her teacher reads a story about indigenous children who were forced to leave their families to go to residential schools. This is a troubling piece of history for anyone, but since Miya is the only Indigenous child in the class, it hits her incredibly hard. She’s upset the rest of the day, and still upset when her mother picks her up and takes her home.
Eventually, Miya asks if she will have to go to a residential school. Her mother is understandably upset, and works hard to reassure her daughter. She eventually succeeds, at least well enough that Miya can process (somewhat) and sleep. Before she does go to sleep, though, her mother assures her that they can all wear orange on the last day of September to honor the Indigenous kids who were forcibly separated from their families and sent to these schools. (To learn more about Orange Shirt Day, visit the Orange Shirt Society.)
The story is told very directly. The art is colorful, but Erika Rodriguez Medina’s illustrations are muted, and at times (appropriately) sad.
This book is worthy in itself, for its history and ethics, but also good for teachers, to be reminded of the complex path of good intentions and how different children bear the weight of tough topics differently.
