Q&A with Justice O'Bonsawin:

• How did you feel when you found out you were going to be in the storybook “Daanis the Judge?”
• What would you have done if you hadn’t gone into law?
• Do you miss being a lawyer?
• What made you decide to be a judge?
  
• What advice would you give to students who want to become a judge?
• Were the tests hard in law school?

Q&A with Victoria Perrie and EJ Miller-Larson:

• Did the writer and illustrator have disagreements while making the book?
  
• Who’s your favourite artist?
• What was your favourite book growing up?
• How did you learn how to paint backgrounds?

Other links

• Book reading of Daanis the Judge
• Full video

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Toronto, ON – September 2024 – The Honourable Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin, the first Indigenous person to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, joined over 2100 elementary students in a live virtual Q&A following a live reading of the original children’s storybook Daanis the Judge, on September 24, from 1:00-2:15 pm ET.

The event was hosted by Chapter One to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Chapter One is a children’s literacy charity that provides 1:1 high-impact reading tutoring and co-creates original storybooks with participating communities nationwide.

Métis-Cree lawyer Victoria Perrie, who wrote Daanis the Judge, led the live reading. Students then asked questions during a moderated Q&A with Justice O’Bonsawin, Perrie, and Daanis the Judge illustrator EJ Miller-Larson of the Fond du Lac Band and Oneida Nation.

Daanis the Judge was inspired by Justice O’Bonsawin’s trailblazing career. It tells the story of a young student, Daanis, who dreams of becoming a judge after learning about Justice O’Bonsawin’s achievements.

The story is part of Chapter One’s growing collection of original children’s e-storybooks, co-created with Indigenous writers, illustrators and communities. The e-storybooks celebrate Indigenous experiences and perspectives, and feature audio clips of Elders pronouncing foundational words in their communities’ first languages.

All e-storybooks are provided for free through the Global Free Library.

About Chapter One

Chapter One is a global nonprofit and a registered Canadian charity that provides one-on-one early literacy tutoring programs to 2,300 children in eight provinces and territories across Canada.

Its proven “short burst” high-impact tutoring approach—five-minute sessions, three to five times a week—is ideally suited to young children’s attention spans and aligns with the Science of Reading. In one of the largest randomized control trials conducted on early literacy instruction, researchers from Stanford University found that 7 out of 10 students receiving Chapter One high impact tutoring achieved phonics benchmarks by the end of kindergarten, compared to 32% in the control group.

Children at risk of reading failure receive 1:1 reading support from specially trained, paid paraprofessional tutors through Chapter One’s online reading platform, using Chapter One’s custom software. Programs are delivered in-person and virtually in classrooms through agreements with schools and school boards, and at home on families’ smartphones, connecting struggling readers with individualized reading support—regardless of location and circumstance, even in some of the most geographically remote communities in Canada.

In addition to its tutoring programs, Chapter One collaborates with Indigenous communities to co-create children’s stories that represent the communities’ priorities and experiences and advance language revitalization efforts. The e-storybooks are provided for free online, as part of the Global Free Library.

About the author and illustrator

Victoria Perrie is a Two-Spirit Métis-Cree lawyer and artist. She is a criminal defence lawyer at Perrie Law, with practices in Nunavut and Manitoba. Victoria frequently engages with literary and theatrical arts as both a patron and artist.

EJ Miller-Larson is a self-taught, Two-Spirit illustrator whose artwork incorporates bold colors and cultural elements as both a means of artistic expression and education. They are a proud member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Oneida Nation.