Traditional knowledge can help everyone and a new children's book aims to prove that.

A children's story by author Tamara Levine titled The Warmest Blanket in the World connects Inuvialuit traditional knowledge with female empowerment, detailing how each generation of women over the past century fought for rights now seen as a given.

"I love there's a very old tradition from the North included in the story," said Levine. "And the elderly activist, passing on some of the things she's done and learned through the course of her life, and how much has changed but not everything has changed.

"I hope readers will take away the importance of the connection between children and the elderly. I hope kids take away they can become advocates and activists if there's something in their life they don't think is fair and they might have a role in changing."

It launched on May 10 in Ottawa, marking Levine's first published children book.

Focusing on the protagonist Frida, whose name is a combination of Levine's two granddaughters, she takes those lessons and turns them into helping out the family herself, reaching out to a producer of qiviut (muskox fur) which is renowned for its ability to store heat.

"It's about the connection between a little girl and her grandmother and what happens when the grandmother has a problem," she said. "The girl becomes the activist as the grandmother has shown her.

"Here is this little girl who lives in southern Canada who learns about qiviut and where it comes from and it's such a long history."

It's actually based on real life — Levine said she originally wrote the story as a memoir of her late mother, Helen Levine, for the Globe and Mail and the story evolved into the children's book from there.

"She was a really gutsy gal, a feminist and activist who, in her younger years would throw open the windows in the dead of winter," said Levine. "But as she got older, especially into her 80s and 90s, she was always cold and we were always trying to find ways to keep her warm."

Levine said Tanis 'Akutuq' Simpson, who's originally from Sachs Harbour, of Qiviut Inc., which is based in Nisku, Alta., has a "loaner" blanket for Elders, which her mother was able to use. 

Levine said when she reached out to Simpson about putting together a blanket to keep her mother warm, Simpson offered the blanket for as long as she needed it.

As thanks for her help, Levine asked Simpson if she would be willing to be a character in the story, which Simpson readily accepted.

"She saw the drafts that included her part along the way and was really helpful and generous with that," she said.

With the book complete, Levine said she wants to develop workshops using the book, helping seniors understand how to keep warm as they grow older and circulation slows down. She would also like to host workshops for kids, both in storytelling and in troubleshooting ideas on how to keep warm.

Levine requests avid readers purchase the book through their local bookstore, adding the book can be ordered if not on the shelves.