Ruby Slipperjack

So, one of many things I love about the Dear Canada series is that it doesn't shy away from shameful moments in this country's history. These Are My Words, which deals with the residential school system and the horrifying treatment of indigenous people by the government (and Canadians in general), is such an important addition to the series.

There is a lot left unsaid, there is a lot that is implied instead of directly stated, and it makes me wonder how much background information you need. show more But having said that, I think this book would be fantastic and powerful paired with various resources and other books... and that's really a great thing, a book that encourages you to read more widely in the subject area. show less

A short fiction for younger readers.

I read this as part of an indigenous writers challenge that I've decided to do this year. I'm reading as many pieces written by indigenous people of Turtle Island as I can find.

I gave this book 5 stars because it was really wholesome. A lot of indigenous literature is really heavy because of all the trauma that has come from colonization. This one didn't talk a whole lot about that - instead it focused on an indigenous child connecting with her show more grandmother. If you are looking for a light, easy read, this is a book I would recommend! show less

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

I could not sustain interest in this book and the main reason is that the book seems to be a stream of consciousness rather than a tightly crafted story. When the book begins, Abby is living with her Goom and Choom, which is Ojibwe for grandmother and grandfather. When her Choom suffers a heart attack, Abby has to go and live on a native reserve with her mother. The big excitement in the story is that a group of natives on the reserve have plans to create a tourist attraction called The Real show more Anishinawbe experience. Abby wants to find a way to be a part of this. I had to stop reading because it was just so uninteresting. Although I'm interested in native stories, and I love dogs, and I enjoyed Gary Paulsen's sledding story, Winterdance, on running the Iditarod, I did not enjoy this story at all and count it among the few books I've ever read that I could not finish. show less