Residential Schools - Recommended reading for children and teens

Updated April 9, 2024
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Winnipeg Public Library
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Spirit Bear : fishing for knowledge, catching dreams : based on a true story
Blackstock, Cindy.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2019-2020 First Nation Communities Read and Periodical Marketers of Canada Indigenous Literature Award! Spirit Bear is off on another adventure! Follow him as he learns about...
The Witness Blanket : truth, art and reconciliation
Newman, Carey
Paper Book
For more than 150 years, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada. Artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket to make sure that history is never forgotten. The Blanket is a living work of art--a collection of...
The train
Callaghan, Jodie
Paper Book
Ashley meets her great-uncle by the old train tracks near their community in Nova Scotia. Ashley sees his sadness, and Uncle tells her of the day years ago when he and the other children from their community were told to board the train before being taken to residential school where their lives...
The marrow thieves
Dimaline, Cherie
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award (Young People's Literature - Text) Winner of the 2017 Kirkus PrizeWinner of the 2018 Sunburst Award Winner of the 2018 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Winner of the 2018 Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats as well as a Book Club Kit.

The marrow thieves.
Dimaline, Cherie, 1975-
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award (Young People's Literature - Text) Winner of the 2017 Kirkus PrizeWinner of the 2018 Sunburst Award Winner of the 2018 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Winner of the 2018 Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit...

Avec Pilleurs de reves, Cherie Dimaline cree un monde dystopique aussi lugubre qu'inquietant, qui ne nous est pourtant pas completement etranger. Elle parvient a tisser des liens troublants entre cet univers fictif et le monde dans lequel nous vivons, presentant une allegorie puissante du colonialisme en Amerique du Nord.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Shin-chi's canoe
Campbell, Nicola I.
Paper Book
Winner of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and finalist for the Governor General's Award: Children's Illustration This moving sequel to the award-winning Shi-shi-etko tells the story of two children's experience at residential school. Shi-shi-etko is about to return for her...

Also available in eBook format.

Shin-chi's canoe /
Campbell, Nicola I.
Paper Book
Winner of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and finalist for the Governor General's Award: Children's Illustration This moving sequel to the award-winning Shi-shi-etko tells the story of two children's experience at residential school. Shi-shi-etko is about to return for her...

Shi-shi-etko s'apprete a retourner au pensionnat indien pour une deuxieme annee, cette fois-ci accompagnee de son petit frere de six ans, Shin-chi. Elle lui remet une pirogue de cedre miniature, cadeau symbolique de leur pere qui represente tout ce dont Shin-chi doit se souvenir et garder secret.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

I am not a number
Dupuis, Jenny Kay.
Paper Book
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she...

Also available in eBook format.

I am not a number.
Dupuis, Jenny Kay
Paper Book
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she...
I lost my talk /
Joe, Rita, 1932-2007.
Paper Book
I lost my talk The talk you took away When I was a little girl At Shubenacadie school. One of Rita Joe's most influential poems, "I Lost My Talk" tells the revered Mi'kmaw Elder's childhood story of losing her language while a resident of the residential school in Shubenacadie, Nova...
When I was eight
Jordan-Fenton, Christy.
Paper Book
Bestselling memoir Fatty Legs for younger readers. Olemaun is eight and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. Ignoring her father's warnings, she travels far from her Arctic home to the outsiders' school to learn. The nuns at the school call her Margaret. They cut off her...
Quand j'avais huit ans
Jordan-Fenton, Christy.
Paper Book
See below for English description. Une adaptation du roman à succès Les bas du pensionnat pour les lecteurs débutants! Olemaun a huit ans et elle sait beaucoup de choses. Mais elle ne sait pas lire. Faisant fi des avertissements de son père, elle effectue un long voyage pour...
Not my girl
Jordan-Fenton, Christy.
Paper Book
Margaret can't wait to see her family, but her homecoming is not what she expected. Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and complemented by evocative illustrations, Not My Girl makes the original, award-winning memoir, A Stranger at Home, accessible to younger children. It is...
Où Est Ma Fille?
Pokiak-Fenton, Margaret
Paper Book
See below for English description. Après deux années passées à l'école loin de chez elle, Margaret est excitée à l'idée de rentrer à la maison, dans l'Arctique, et de retrouver sa famille. Mais la réaction de sa mère n'est pas celle qu'elle espérait. Margaret a changé. Elle a oublié...
Stolen words
Florence, Melanie.
Paper Book
The story of the beautiful relationship between a little girl and her grandfather. When she asks her grandfather how to say something in his language - Cree - he admits that his language was stolen from him when he was a boy. The little girl then sets out to help her grandfather find his language...
Les mots volés
Florence, Melanie.
Paper Book
See below for English description. Curieuse d'en savoir davantage sur ses origines, une petite fille demande à son grand-père de prononcer un mot en langue crie. Celui-ci est attristé lorsqu'il réalise qu'il l'a oublié, conséquence de nombreuses années passées en école résidentielle...
As long as the rivers flow
Loyie, Oskiniko Larry
Paper Book
Starting in the 1800s and continuing into the 20th century, First Nations children were forcibly taken to government-sponsored residential schools to erase their traditional languages and cultures. This moving book tells of one such child, author Larry Loyie, and his last summer with his Cree tribe....
As long as the rivers flow /
Loyie, Oskiniko Larry, 1933-
Paper Book
Starting in the 1800s and continuing into the 20th century, First Nations children were forcibly taken to government-sponsored residential schools to erase their traditional languages and cultures. This moving book tells of one such child, author Larry Loyie, and his last summer with his Cree tribe....

En 1944, Larry Loyie, alors connu sous le nom de Lawrence, avait dix ans et vivait avec sa famille crie pres de Slave Lake, dans le nord de l'Alberta (Canada). Tant que couleront les rivieres s'inspire de son dernier ete avec ses proches, avant son depart obligatoire pour le pensionnat indien.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

When we were alone
Robertson, David
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award! A young girl notices things about her grandmother that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her family? As the...

Also available in Braille and eBook formats.

When we were alone.
Robertson, David, 1977-
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award! A young girl notices things about her grandmother that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her family? As the...

En aidant sa grand-mere a entretenir son jardin, une fillette remarque chez celle-ci des caracteristiques qui piquent sa curiosite. Pourquoi sa grand-mere porte-t-elle ses longs cheveux en tresses et des vetements de couleurs vives ? Pourquoi parle-t-elle une autre langue et passe-t-elle tant de temps avec sa famille ? Ces questions amenent l'ainee a parler des annees qu'elle a passees enfant dans un pensionnat autochtone, endroit ou tout lui avait ete enleve. Quand on était seuls raconte une periode difficile et constitue, en dernier ressort, un temoignage de courage et de prise en charge personnelle.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

The orange shirt story
Webstad, Phyllis.
Paper Book
The Orange Shirt Story was the best selling children's book in Canada for several weeks in September (Book manager). This true story also inspired the movement of Orange Shirt Day which could become a federal statuatory holidayWhen Phyllis Webstad (nee Jack) turned six, she went to the residential...
L'histoire du chandail orange
Webstad, Phyllis.
Paper Book
Lorsque Phyllis Webstad (née Jack) a eu six ans, elle est allée au pensionnat pour la première fois. Pour sa première journée d'école, elle portait un chandail orange tout neuf que sa grand-mère lui avait acheté. À son arrivée à l'école, on le lui a enlevé, pour ne jamais le lui redonner. Voici la...
With our orange hearts
Webstad, Phyllis
Paper Book
"Every child matters, including you and me. With our orange hearts, we walk in harmony." As a young child, your little world can be full of big emotions. In this book, I, Phyllis Webstad, founder of Orange Shirt Day, show that sharing my story with the world helped me to process my feelings. My true...
The journey forward, a novella on reconciliation
Flett, Julie.
Paper Book

Lucy & Lola / by Monique Gray Smith; illustrations by Julie Flett -- When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! / by Richard Van Camp; photographs by Tessa Macintosh.

Also available as a Book Club Kit.

These are my words : the residential school diary of Violet Pesheens
Slipperjack, Ruby
Paper Book
Acclaimed author Ruby Slipperjack delivers a haunting novel about a 12-year-old girl's experience at a residential school in 1966. Violet Pesheens is struggling to adjust to her new life at residential school. She misses her Grandma; she has run-ins with Cree girls; at her "white" school,...

Also available in eBook format.

Speaking our truth : a journey of reconciliation
Gray Smith, Monique
Paper Book
★"Smith's book is an effort that returns, offering diverse voices that invite the world into the reconciliation experience. Absolutely necessary."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people has suffered as a result of both the residential...
Also available in eBook format.
Residential schools : the devastating impact on Canada's indigenous peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings and calls for action
Florence, Melanie.
Paper Book
Canada's residential school system for aboriginal young people is now recognized as a grievous historic wrong committed against First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. This book documents this subject in a format that will give all young people access to this painful part of Canadian history.<...
The secret pocket
Janicki, Peggy
Paper Book
★"Captures the sympathy of readers and holds their attention...An age-appropriate telling by an Indigenous creative team of a tragic historical period."--School Library Journal, starred review The true story of how Indigenous girls at a residential school sewed secret pockets into...
Also available in eBook format.
A stranger at home : a true story
Jordan-Fenton, Christy.
Paper Book
Margaret can't wait to see her family, but her homecoming is not what she expected. Traveling to be reunited with her family in the arctic, 10-year-old Margaret Pokiak can hardly contain her excitement. It's been two years since her parents delivered her to the school run by the dark...

Also available in DAISY and eBook formats.

A stranger at home : a true story /
Jordan-Fenton, Christy
Paper Book
Margaret can't wait to see her family, but her homecoming is not what she expected. Traveling to be reunited with her family in the arctic, 10-year-old Margaret Pokiak can hardly contain her excitement. It's been two years since her parents delivered her to the school run by the dark...
Fatty legs : a true story /
Jordan-Fenton, Christy
Paper Book
Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential...
Also available in DAISY and eBook format.
Fatty legs : a true story /
Jordan-Fenton, Christy
Paper Book
Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential...
Muinji'j Asks Why : The Story of the Mi'kmaq and the Shubenacadie Residential School
MacEachern, Shanika Jayde.
Paper Book
An educational and heartfelt retelling of the story of the Mi'kmaq and their traditional lands, Mi'kma'ki, for young readers, focused on the generational traumas of the Indian Residential School System. "The story of the Mi'kmaw people is one that very few truly know, Ladybug....
Orange shirt day : September 30th /
Webstad, Phyllis.
Paper Book
Revised 2023 Edition. Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an official day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and to remember the children who did not come home. What was initially...
My name is Seepeetza /
Sterling, Shirley
Paper Book
Her name was Seepeetza when she was at home with her family. But now that she's living at the Indian residential school her name is Martha Stone, and everything else about her life has changed as well. Told in the honest voice of a sixth grader, this is the story of a young Native girl forced to...
Also available in eBook format.
Sugar Falls : a residential school story
Robertson, David
Paper Book
BASED ON A TRUE STORY* A school assignment to interview a residential school survivor leads Daniel to Betsy, his friend's grandmother, who tells him her story. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy was soon adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changed. Betsy...
Also available in eBook format.

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