Charlotte's New Moccasins
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Author Jenn Moudahi joined the "From Those Who Know" panel at School Library Journal's Picture Book Palooza 2025
Jenn Moudahi, author
Jenn Moudahi is a Métis author, clinical counselor, and mom. Stories are a common thread in her life—she writes them as an author, listens to them as a counselor, escapes into them as a reader, and allows too many at bedtime as a mom. Growing up, Jenn spent countless hours with her own mom learning to create Indigenous art, often helping to teach workshops throughout British Columbia. Jenn lives in Western Canada with her husband, two kids, and two purrfect cats. This is her first picture book.
Read more about Jenn.
Rhael McGregor, illustrator
Rhael McGregor is a Winnipeg-based, Métis, and Two-Spirit/queer artist. Since stepping into storytelling in 2018, Rhael has been passionately telling stories as a writer and illustrator in hopes of all readers being able to see themselves in books. They love the winter, sweet treats, and doing beadwork for family and friends. They also illustrated Noodin’s Perfect Day.
Read more about Rhael.
- Coming soon!
School Library Journal
In a welcome addition to the growing collection of stories about Indigenous peoples, Charlotte has outgrown her moccasins, but her grandmother knows exactly how to remedy the problem. Like many people of the First Nations, Grandma knows how to construct a new pair, this time with Charlotte’s assistance. Step-by-step, she traces and cuts as Charlotte tells her stories. Charlotte selects leather, beads for the flower designs, and fur for the cuffs. This time Grandma does the sewing, but next time Charlotte will be ready to practice the craft that is her cultural tradition. Although the artwork is fairly generic, the story is warm-hearted. VERDICT A valuable resource, especially for libraries looking to expand their collections of books about Native American peoples.
Children's Literature
Charlotte, a carefree girl who enjoys nature and the out-of-doors, realizes one day that her hand-made moccasins are wearing out. Not only are these shoes functional, but they are also meaningful thanks to the fact that her grandmother made them using techniques and materials spanning multiple generations of First Nations people. Instead of purchasing a new pair of shoes, Charlotte and her grandmother set out to make a pair of moccasins together, during which time Charlotte learns traditional skills she can begin to replicate on her own. Told with simplicity, this domestic and cultural story will remind readers of how traditions can be saved or lost depending upon intergenerational intention. Charlotte’s story includes much more than a simple recounting of the making of moccasins, highlighting the fact that the passing on of traditions remains a vital rite of passage that assures the ongoing existence of cultural knowledge. Though this story seems simplistic on the surface, it actually embodies elemental strands of culture that are either handed down or forgotten, encouraging reflection and discussion between children and their caregivers. This is a delicate and thoughtful addition to storybook collections for young readers.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-496-6
Ages: 3–7
Page count: 32
81/2 x 11
Publication date: October 14, 2025



