New children’s book from Inuk artist showcases Labrador life through a tale of survival

Kayla Williams’ new children’s book Aurora’s Journey tells the story of a young Inuk girl in Nunatsiavut who ventures out in a storm to find her family after they don’t return home from hunting. 

The 34-year-old mixed-media artist, author, painter, educator, and mother is from Happy Valley-Goose Bay and has family roots in Rigolet and Makkovik, Nunatsiavut. She was inspired to venture into kids’ storytelling after becoming a mother and wanting her daughter and son to see themselves in the books they read. 

“I wanted something that people in Labrador and children in Labrador could kind of look at and maybe see themselves or their family or their community,” Williams says during an interview at her home in Goose Bay. “We read so many books all the time and none of it is really relative to our lifestyle here.”

Before writing the story, Williams asked community members and elders along the Labrador coast about survival knowledge in Nunatsiavut. “It’s such an important part of our culture, right? Just like relying on the knowledge of our ancestors to kind of guide us through modern day problems.”

She says her personal experience of being Inuk has inspired her to write, illustrate, and share stories with the world. “When I was growing up and my mom—who’s not from here—took me to live in the city out in Ontario, I grew up feeling really isolated out there,” Williams says. 

“I’d be pointed out in the middle of class and things like that, when we were talking about Indigenous studies,” she recalls, “I never saw anyone from my family or culture represented in the media […] I couldn’t pick up a book like this and be like, ‘This is where I come from.’”

Williams says Labradorians deserve to see themselves better represented in media, movies, TV, music and books. The artist and author says one of her main inspirations is her relative Raeann Brown’s 2022 book Bedtime in Nunatsiavut, and that she hopes her own books help others see the possibility that they too can become an author or illustrator.

Aurora’s Journey was written in 2023 and both the illustrations and story were finalized last summer, Williams explains, adding it feels surreal to finally have the book out in the world. “It’s not something that I thought was going to happen.” 

The book was released Nov. 15 and Williams hopes to hold a book launch for it and another she recently published, Labrador Skies, in the near future. Aurora’s Journey can be purchased on publisher Kegedonce Press’s website and other online retailers. Williams says it will soon also be available locally.