Title: Fatty Legs
Author: Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton
Publisher: Annick Press
Year: 2020
136 Pages
From the Back: Eight-year-old Olemaun Pokiak sets her sights on learning to read, but even her father's dire warnings can't prepare her for the reality of residential school. At school Olemaun is made to answer to the name Margaret. She soon encounters the Raven, a cruel nun who forces her to wear bright red stockings when all the other students wear gray ones. Margaret becomes an instant laughingstock. But she will not let herself be worn down - even in the face of torment.
Personal Thoughts: As with any book about residential schools, this was an emotional story. You can feel the tension between the child's desire to learn to read and her father's need to protect her from an education system that was built to destroy Indigenous people. Jordan-Fenton does an incredible job of sharing her mother-in-law's story, giving it honour while also making the read feel the emotions being experienced by Olemaun. Yes, this is a children's book but sometimes it is from children's stories that we learn the biggest lessons.
No comments:
Post a Comment