Christine Day is an Indigenous American author of children's books. She is a member of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. 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. Her mother was adopted prior to the Indian Child Welfare Act, which inspired her debut novel, I Can Make This Promise.
As a child, she attended a ballet program with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, 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.
Day received a master's degree from the University of Washington. For her thesis, she studied Coast Salish weaving traditions.
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.
The Sea in Winter is a Junior Library Guild book. Kirkus Reviews also included it on their list of the best children's books of 2021. +Awards for Day's writingYearTitleAwardResultRef.2020I Can Make This PromiseALSC Notable Children's BooksSelectionAmerican Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle School BookHonorCharlotte Huck AwardHonor2021Rise: A Feminist Book ProjectSelection2022Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book AwardNomineeALSC Notable Children's BooksSelectionAmerican Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle School BookHonorPacific Northwest Booksellers Association AwardShortlist2024 We Still BelongAmerican Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle School BookWinnerShe Persisted: Maria TallchiefHonor
Publications
Books
I Can Make This Promise, HarperCollins, (2019) The Sea in Winter, Heartdrum, (2021) She Persisted: Maria Tallchief, adapted from the picture book by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger and illustrated by Gillian Flint, Philomel Books, (2021). We Still Belong, Heartdrum, (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, (2018) "What We Know About Glaciers" in Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Heartdrum, (2021)
References
External links
“Real-life family mystery inspires debut novel ‘I Can Make This Promise,’” by Mary Quattlebaum for The Washington Post