Christine Day is an Indigenous American author of children's books. She is a member of the

Upper Skagit Indian Tribe The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe () is a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, federally-recognized Indian tribe located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The tribe is the successor-in-interest to ap ...

. Her novel ''We Still Belong'' won the American Indian Youth Literature Award for middle school book, and three of her books have received American Indian Youth Literature Award honors. Day grew up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Her mother was adopted prior to the

Indian Child Welfare Act The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA, enacted November 8, 1978 and codified at Indian Child Welfare Act, (, )) is a United States Code, United States federal law that governs jurisdiction over the removal of Native Americans in the United ...

, which inspired her debut novel, ''I Can Make This Promise.'' As a child, she attended a ballet program with

Pacific Northwest Ballet School Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is an American ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts ...

, where she learned about

Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...

. Later, when approached about adapting Clinton and Boiger's picture book about Tallchief, she was thrilled at the opportunity. Day received a master's degree from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. For her thesis, she studied

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

weaving traditions.

Awards and honors

In 2019, the

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

included ''I Can Make This Promise'' on their list of the best books of the year. ''The Sea in Winter'' is a

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

book. ''Kirkus Reviews'' also included it on their list of the best children's books of 2021.

Publications

Books

* ''I Can Make This Promise'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, (2019) * ''The Sea in Winter'',

Heartdrum Heartdrum is a publishing Imprint (trade name), imprint of the English-language publishing house HarperCollins that specializes in children's books by North American Indigenous authors. Audience Heartdrum was launched in 2019 and is an imprint ...

, (2021) * ''She Persisted: Maria Tallchief'', adapted from the picture book by

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Clinton was born in Little Rock, Ar ...

and Alexandra Boiger and illustrated by Gillian Flint,

Philomel Books Philomel Books is a children's literature imprint of Penguin Books USA. The imprint was founded by Ann Beneduce, who was succeeded as publisher by Patricia Lee Gauch. Philomel publishes the series of children's books '' The Ranger's Apprentic ...

, (2021). * ''We Still Belong,''

, (expected 2023).

Contributions

* "Unexpected Pursuits: Embracing My Indigeneity & Creativity" in '' Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America'', edited by

Amy Reed Amy Reed is an author of young adult novels in the United States. Her book ''Nowhere Girls'' has been challenged in some school districts. It is a fictionalized account of a group of girls facing sexual pressures from boys. It is a response to eve ...

Simon Pulse Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, (2018) * "What We Know About Glaciers" in ''Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids'', edited by

Cynthia Leitich Smith Cynthia Leitich Smith (born 1967) is a New York Times best-selling author of fiction for children and young adults. A citizen of the Creek people, Muscogee Creek Nation, she writes fiction for children and teens centered on the lives of modern- ...

, (2021)

References

External links

“Real-life family mystery inspires debut novel ‘I Can Make This Promise,’” by Mary Quattlebaum for ''The Washington Post''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Christine Living people University of Washington alumni 21st-century American women writers Writers from Seattle Year of birth missing (living people)