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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Shin-Chi's Canoe, written by Nicola Campbell and illustrated by Kim Lave. Groundwood Books, 2008.$18.95 ages 5 and up


"The morning sun was shining so bright, Shi-shi-etko had to squint. She was on her way back to Indian residential school and this year she wasn't alone. Shin-chi, her younger brother, was coming, too."

As the family awaits the cattle truck that will take their children to residential school, they speak about the long year spent apart. Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chi know it will be summer before the family is together again. Shin-chi would like a dugout canoe of his own. On the truck his sister tries to give instructions that will help him cope with the sadness and separation that they are sure to face during the school year. They will not be allowed to speak to each other again until the following summer. Shin-chi has the canoe his father whittled for him, and he holds it close and safe. When finally the sockeye swarm the river the cattle truck returns the children to their home and to their father's special surprise.

In accepting the Canadian Children's Literature Award for most distinguished children's book this year, Nicola Campbell said she wrote it to honor her parents and her elders who endured life in a residential school. She was overwhelmed with emotion at the honor given she and Kim LaFave for their heartbreaking look at this page from our past. While adults will be reminded of the lasting effects that the residential school experience has had on so many, children will see this story as one of love, and promises kept in a family torn apart by a system that was beyond their control. While they could not be together, that love never wavered. This fine book is so deserving of every award bestowed on it and is destined (along with its prequel, Shi-shi-etko, Groundwood) to become a classic in literature for our children.

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