Christine Day (author)

Christine Day
Occupation	Author
Citizenship	American
Education	University of Washington
Genre	Middle grade fiction
Website
bychristineday.com

Christine Day is an Indigenous American author of children's books. She is a member of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe.[1]^[unreliable source] 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.[2]

Day grew up in Seattle.[3] Her mother was adopted prior to the Indian Child Welfare Act, which inspired her debut novel, I Can Make This Promise.[4][5]

As a child, she attended a ballet program with Pacific Northwest Ballet School,[4] where she learned about Maria Tallchief. Later, when approached about adapting Clinton and Boiger's picture book about Tallchief, she was thrilled at the opportunity.[5]

Day received a master's degree from the University of Washington. For her thesis, she studied Coast Salish weaving traditions.[3]

Awards and honors

In 2019, the Chicago Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, NPR included I Can Make This Promise on their list of the best books of the year.[6][7][8]

The Sea in Winter is a Junior Library Guild book.[9] Kirkus Reviews also included it on their list of the best children's books of 2021.[10]

Awards for Day's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2020	I Can Make This Promise	ALSC Notable Children's Books	Selection	[11]
		American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle School Book	Honor	[2][12]
		Charlotte Huck Award	Honor	[13]
2021		Rise: A Feminist Book Project	Selection	[14]
2022		Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award	Nominee	[15]
	The Sea in Winter	ALSC Notable Children's Books	Selection	[16]
		American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle School Book	Honor	[2][10][17]
		Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award	Shortlist	[18]
2024	We Still Belong	American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle School Book	Winner	[19]
	She Persisted: Maria Tallchief		Honor

Publications

Books

• I Can Make This Promise, HarperCollins, (2019)
• The Sea in Winter, Heartdrum, ISBN 978-0-062-87204-3 (2021)
• She Persisted: Maria Tallchief, adapted from the picture book by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger and illustrated by Gillian Flint, Philomel Books, ISBN 978-0-593-11581-7 (2021).
• We Still Belong, Heartdrum, ISBN 978-0-063-06456-0 (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, Simon Pulse, ISBN 978-1-534-40901-9 (2018)
• "What We Know About Glaciers" in Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Heartdrum, ISBN 978-0-062-86994-4 (2021)

References

1. "The Thing About Corn". Medium. 2019-09-19. Archived from the original on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
2. "American Indian Youth Literature Award". American Indian Library Association. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
3. "Christine Day (Authors)". Strong Nations. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
4. Fry, Erin M. (2019-12-20). "Fall 2019 Flying Starts: Christine Day". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
5. "Christine Day". Cotsen Children's Library. Princeton University. 2022-04-26. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
6. ChiPubLib_Kids. "Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2019". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
7. "Best of 2019". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
8. "Books We Love". NPR. Archived from the original on 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
9. "The Sea in Winter by Christine Day". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
10. "The Sea in Winter". Kirkus Reviews. 2020-10-21. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
11. Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2020-02-25). "ALSC names 2020 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
12. Aase, Lara (2020-01-27). "AILA announces 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Awards". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
13. "NCTE Charlotte Huck Award® Outstanding Fiction for Children Winner List" (PDF). National Council of Teachers of English. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
14. "2021 Rise: A Feminist Book Project List". American Library Association. 2021-02-10. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
15. ChiPubLib_Kids. "2022 Rebecca Caudill Award Nominees". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
16. "2022 Notable Children's Books". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
17. Communications and Marketing Office (2022-01-24). "American Library Association announces 2022 Youth Media Award winners". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
18. "Awards: Andrew Carnegie Medals, PNBA Book Shortlists". Shelf Awareness. 2021-11-09. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
19. "American Library Association announces 2024 Youth Media Award winners" (PDF). American Library Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

External links

• “Real-life family mystery inspires debut novel ‘I Can Make This Promise,’” by Mary Quattlebaum for The Washington Post