When 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 being told to do otherwise. When she goes home for summer holidays, her parents decide never to send her away again, but where will she hide and what will happen when her parents disobey the law?
This powerful story about the experiences of Canadian First Nations children in the residential school system includes back matter about the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Report of 2015.
"The story begins in medias res: the front door is open, and a gruff white man is demanding that Irene Couchie's parents hand over their children — now 'wards of the government.' Couchie and her two brothers are taken from their home on Nipissing First Nation to attend a residential boarding school many miles away. Couchie learns that names are not allowed at this school; she becomes number 759....A spotlight on the injustice of Canada's residential school program based on Dupuis's grandmother's childhood experience." -- Amy Zembroski, School Library Journal
Recommended Age | 8 - 10 |
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Author | Jenny Kay Dupuis, Kathy Kacer |
Illustrator | Gillian Newland |
ISBN | 1927583942 |
Publication Date | Oct 4, 2016 |
Publisher | Second Story Press |
Language | English |