Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story

Anishinaabe kwe and a member of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Robertson (Nibi Is Water) and former chief of the Missanabie Cree First Nation Horn team up to chronicle the debut author’s decade-long experience living at a residential school in this emotionally raw work. Five-year-old Horn lives with her family on a remote island in the Moose River until, one day, an “Indian agent” arrives to take the child and her siblings to Shingwauk Residential School. Still too young to attend classes, Horn spends her days physically tethered to her bed—“for my safety”—in the dormitory. As she ages, she is assigned chores and eventually attends lessons, tasks cataloged via a highly regimented schedule maintained by austere staff members. Even as she works long hours, however, Horn maintains a mischievous sense of humor that helps the subject and her peers survive: “Daring each other to feel alive, we made our own joy,” unadorned text states, recounting time spent swinging on barn ropes or hiding snakes in a pocket. Saturated cartoon illustrations portraying key moments are superimposed over historical b&w photographs of Horn’s journey, culminating in a somber tribute to both the pain and joy she experienced throughout her youth. Ages 9–12. (Feb.)