Grade 2-5—This realistic, tender story recounts the experiences of Native siblings sent to a government-mandated, church-run boarding school such as those that were common in Canada and the United States from the late 1800s until the 1970s. Hauled away with the other reservation children in a cattle truck, six-year-old Shin-chi and his older sister, Shi-shi-etko, try to memorise life at home from the "trees, mountains, and river below." Shin-chi clutches a tiny carved canoe, a forbidden memento homemade by her father. During the school year (until the sockeye salmon return), Shin-chi and Shi-shi-etko are not allowed to speak to one another and must endure the cruel treatment and restrictions forced upon Native children as they work and go to mass and to school. Hungry and lonely, young Shin-chi tries desperately to hold on to his Native traditions, sneaking out to sing his grandfather's prayer song and release his canoe in the river. LaFave's striking yet soft digital illustrations are appropriately sombre and deftly capture the mood with subtle earth tones on each page. An author's introduction details the practise of sending Native children to residential schools. An accessible and important contribution to Native literature.—Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Grade 2-5—This realistic, tender story recounts the experiences of Native siblings sent to a government-mandated, church-run boarding school such as those that were common in Canada and the United States from the late 1800s until the 1970s. Hauled away with the other reservation children in a cattle truck, six-year-old Shin-chi and his older sister, Shi-shi-etko, try to memorise life at home from the "trees, mountains, and river below." Shin-chi clutches a tiny carved canoe, a forbidden memento homemade by her father. During the school year (until the sockeye salmon return), Shin-chi and Shi-shi-etko are not allowed to speak to one another and must endure the cruel treatment and restrictions forced upon Native children as they work and go to mass and to school. Hungry and lonely, young Shin-chi tries desperately to hold on to his Native traditions, sneaking out to sing his grandfather's prayer song and release his canoe in the river. LaFave's striking yet soft digital illustrations are appropriately sombre and deftly capture the mood with subtle earth tones on each page. An author's introduction details the practise of sending Native children to residential schools. An accessible and important contribution to Native literature.—Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
NICOLA I. CAMPBELL is Interior Salish and Metis, and she grew up in
British Columbia's Nicola Valley. She is the author of Shi-shi-etko
(Aboriginal Children's Book of the Year) and Shin-chi's Canoe (TD
Canadian Children’s Literature Award, Governor General's Award
Finalist for Illustration, USBBY Outstanding International Books),
both illustrated by Kim LaFave. Nicola lives in Vancouver.
KIM LAFAVE has won the Governor General's Award, the Ruth Schwartz
Children's Book Award and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award
for his illustrations in Amos’s Sweater by Janet Lunn. He
illustrated Shin-chi's Canoe by Nicola I. Campbell, which was a
finalist for the Governor General's Award. He lives in Roberts
Creek, B.C.
LaFave's digitally colored pencil sketches contrast the austerity
of boarding-school life with the natural beauty of the children's
home.
*Book Links*
Kim LaFave's illustrations for this book are...bold and
beautiful...an evocative accompaniment to a powerful text.
*Globe and Mail*
LaFave's striking yet soft digital illustrations are appropriately
somber and deftly capture the mood with subtle earth tones on each
page...This realistic, tender story [is] an accessible and
important contribution to Native literature.
*School Library Journal*
This book is an important addition to this literature with its
intertwining of historical fact with an engaging narrative and
evocative illustrations.
*CM Magazine*
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