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20th out of 40 books
—
9 voters
Fatty Legs
The moving memoir of an Inuit girl who emerges from a residential school with her spirit intact.
Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terror...more
Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terror...more
Hardcover, 104 pages
Published
June 3rd 2010
by Annick Press
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Fatty legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton
104 pages
memoir
This is the story of an eight year old girl who wants to go to school. She has been warned by her dad and sister that they are mean and she shouldn't go. Deep down she wants to go to learn how to read and write. Her father ends up letting her go. She is excited and can't wait to go. Once she gets there and the Raven won't let her say goodbye to her parents she knows this is not going to go as she planned. The Raven gives her bright stockings bec...more
104 pages
memoir
This is the story of an eight year old girl who wants to go to school. She has been warned by her dad and sister that they are mean and she shouldn't go. Deep down she wants to go to learn how to read and write. Her father ends up letting her go. She is excited and can't wait to go. Once she gets there and the Raven won't let her say goodbye to her parents she knows this is not going to go as she planned. The Raven gives her bright stockings bec...more
This story is told from an 8 year old's point of view but it still bugged me that we didn't learn any of the motives behind any of the actions that take place in the book. There is one sentence about how the Inuit and the Gwich'in don't get along. There is nothing for the motives behind why the Raven is so mean and especially so to Margaret. The boy that scares Margaret before she can make it outside to the bathroom? Where does he go? She has no idea who he is? There were other instances as well...more
An terrific and unusual book exploring the treatment of Inuvialuit and other Inuit children at a residential school in the Northwest Territory in the 1940's. It's told by Olemaun, whose name was changed to "Margaret", who is dying to learn to read and follow in her sister's footsteps, even though her sister discourages her from going to school. How bad could it be?
Turns out it could be very bad. The nuns, in large part, needed students to earn government funds; students were sometimes forcibly...more
Turns out it could be very bad. The nuns, in large part, needed students to earn government funds; students were sometimes forcibly...more
Margaret Pokiak-Fenton wanted to go to school, she wanted to learn to read. Her family is against it, warning her that the school will cut her hair, give her lots of heavy chores to do and not let her speak her language. Margaret doesn't care, focusing instead on her goal of reading. Once at school, Margaret discovers that the reality is far worse than she imagined. She doesn't even get to start lessons until months after her arrival, instead she is forced to do lots of disgusting, heavy chores....more
Reading Level: Grades 3-6
Be careful what you wish for.
After her older half-sister reads her part of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but refuses to tell why Alice followed the rabbit down the hole, nine-year-old Olemaun nags her parents to send her to the school of the white outsiders. Even though her father warns her that they will cut her hair, give her a new name and not allow her to speak their language , Olemaun so desperately wants to read that she persists until she gets her way.
Once in t...more
Be careful what you wish for.
After her older half-sister reads her part of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but refuses to tell why Alice followed the rabbit down the hole, nine-year-old Olemaun nags her parents to send her to the school of the white outsiders. Even though her father warns her that they will cut her hair, give her a new name and not allow her to speak their language , Olemaun so desperately wants to read that she persists until she gets her way.
Once in t...more
I enjoyed this book. It gives the history of many Inuit children as it happened, that isn't talked about much. Sometimes when I read about things like this,I can't believe they were treated so poorly.These were 8 year olds for heaven's sake. It makes my so angry.
I love the part where she burns those wretched red tights. Thank god her "swan" was there or I fear she could have been killed with the deep rage or the nun.
The photographs really helped me to understand the book. I learned something ne...more
I love the part where she burns those wretched red tights. Thank god her "swan" was there or I fear she could have been killed with the deep rage or the nun.
The photographs really helped me to understand the book. I learned something ne...more
This is the story of an Inuit girl and her experiences in a residential school. Margaret Pokiak decides at age 8 that she must learn to read. And the only way that she will be able to learn to read is to attend the residential school that is many miles away from her home village in the arctic. Her father and older sister, who have both attended the school, try to convince her to stay at home and learn the native way instead, but she insists. At the school, she encounters the Raven, a nun who imm...more
Grades 3-6. A very simple memoir with a lot of issues packed in it. Margaret is a native living in Northern Canada in the 1940s. Her parents have protected her from the residential schools that seek to take children away from their families and make them learn skills that will be more beneficial to being worker bees in the new economy. Really it strips the children of their culture, language and skills that they would need to live in the Arctic. But Margaret is naive and wants to read and convin...more
The autobiography of an Inuvialuit girl who wanted to learn to read. In 1944 her dream came true but in a nightmare setting. Olemaun had no idea the horrors she was in for when she chose to attend the "outsiders'" boarding school run by nuns and priests in a small Yukon town far from her family. Anyone familiar with the treatment of native children in residential schools will not be surprised to learn that most of the 8-year-old's education consisted of harsh punishments and a constant disparage...more
A beautifully written book that gives us a window into a different time and place. Fatty Legs tells a story of bullying, bravery and resilience. As a child, author Margaret Pokiak-Fenton begged her father for permission to attend a church-run, residential school. As anybody familiar with Canadian history can guess, school is not the place she imagined.
This story is a great entry point into the Residential Schools Issue, but it also just a great story. It's written at a level accessable to childr...more
This story is a great entry point into the Residential Schools Issue, but it also just a great story. It's written at a level accessable to childr...more
A true story of a young Inuit girl who leaves her family to attend a Catholic boarding school far away from her family and homeland. This story shares the story of one brave girl who survives a horrible life in a boarding school and eventually returns home to her family. I enjoyed this book because it tells the true story not shared in other books about life at boarding schools for a generation of Aboriginal and Native American children forced to leave their families and homelands. I would recom...more
An eight-year-old Inuit girl leaves her family to go a Catholic boarding school to learn how to read. While there, her hair is cut off, her warm clothing is taken from her and she's given canvas underclothing. She is not allowed to speak her native language and is given a new name. One of the nuns doesn't like her behavior and tries to break her spirit by giving her the only pair of red stockings. Those stockings make her legs feel fat and she is taunted by the other children. But that nun doesn...more
For over 60 years, Olemaun (Margaret) Pokiak kept a secret. Now, in this vivid memoir, aided by her daughter-in-law, she tells a story of courage and determination. Intent on learning to read, the eight-year-old Inuvialuit (Western Inuit) girl persuades her father to let her attend a residential school in 1944 in Aklavik, Northwest Territories. Her father worries that her spirit will be worn down, but Olemaun knows herself to be proud and resilient. Her strength is tested at the school by a nun...more
This is a wonderfully written book for children and the best part it's a true story about an Inuit child going to school with the nuns (60 years ago) and having to live away from home and learn a new language. Sad story, brutal story in some ways but this strong-willed child comes out of it a wonderful adult. The book is written by the daughter-in-law with the facts coming from the storyteller. Great pictures, too. Adults will enjoy reading it to their children and there will be lots of discussi...more
I wish this book was double the length, because I wanted more details. Nonfiction story about the far far north and Canadian missionaries taking kids from their native homes and putting them in religious schools. Our main character actually begs to go, because she wants to learn to read. Her parents try to stop her, but she is relentless. Of course it is terrible, and then she wants to leave. I thrive on detail in these stories, and this slim volume delivers some, I just wanted more.
This book is actually a true story related by the author of her time in a Canadian Catholic school that Inuit children were encouraged to go to. Her family had been against her going but she was desperate to learn to read. She found the time there very difficult. This is a quick but interesting description of a time in history. I think girls who like historical fiction and kids who sometimes feel like outsiders in our culture would like this book. --Rachel
j371.829/bio/Jordan-Fenton
j371.829/bio/Jordan-Fenton
This was a great book! It's a first person account of residential schools from the perspective of a young girl. In addition to describing the activities that went on in the school and the feeling of loss that came from being separated from her home and family the narrator also describes ways that she used her cultural identity to resist oppression and fought to keep her own identity in a hostile environment.
This novel is approved by BC ERAC for grades 4-8.
This novel is approved by BC ERAC for grades 4-8.
I like that this story brings some awareness to the life of the Inuit peoples. The fact that, much like the churches who stole the life of Native Tribes in America, these groups also tried to destroy the culture and language of the native people in Canada/Artic. That being said, it could have included more about her two years time in the school because it seemed to fly by without much idea of the realities of her suffering shared.
Olemaun is a young Inuvialuit girl living with her family in Canada. She begs for the chance to go to a Catholic boarding school, and her family reluctantly agrees to let her go. When she gets there, though, she finds out that it isn't as great as she'd expected. She thought she'd be focused on reading and learning but she finds that she's punished for speaking her own language, forced to spend hours cleaning, and even has to answer to a new name, Margaret. To make matters worse, one of the nuns...more
Another book that I read with my 10 year old. This one was just ok. The pictures were actually the best part of this book, other than the fact that I really enjoy being able to read and share a book with any of my kids. Interesting enough story about a region of our world that I have very little knowledge. I would have loved to have been given more details of the culture of these northern natives.
This is a pretty interesting true story. It let's u learn about Inuits who live in Aklavik and how a girl wants to learn to read. Then when she's sent to a catholic school she becomes bullied and treated unfairly. The bullying starts when she gets a different pair of stockings and they call her "fatty legs"
this was such a good book no one likes to be picked on and people like to cope with it in different ways. the girl in this book wants to read and go to school and when she finally gets the chance to go she is hummiliated by everyone but most of all the cause is the nun whom she likes to call "the raven" it is a really good book
A good non-fiction story about the treatment of the Inuit people, and one particularly spirited girl. The book is a quick read, but insightful. It is always heartwarming to see the underdog come out on top. The book uses a decent vocabular, and would make for a good (fairly quick) read-aloud.
This true tale of a young girl (Margret Lucy Fenton) who grew up in the Arctic Ocean. At that time it was common (according to the text) for missionaries to "pluck children" out of their homes and drop them into Catholic Churches to "teach" them. This girl's experiences were heart-breaking. She not only lost her culture, but her joy. The maps and pictures were wonderful and made the reading almost like viewing someone's scrapbook.
A very important story, and very well told. Highly recommended for multicultural units or any units on Inuit culture, cultural identity, or even on bravery and self-worth. Frankly, it would also be useful to show the damage that colonization has done and still does to indigenous or aboriginal cultures and cultural identity.
Interesting memoir about the unpleasant experiences of an idigenous girl sent to live in a residential school. A good book to compare with others about similar experiences such as the notorious Carlisle Indian School.
Simple and effective. The photos are helpful, considering this is from the junior category. This memoir brings to life the horrible treatment many children endured in residential school.
I've been wanting to read more books by First Nations Writers to use in novel studies. This one is good, but like most I've found, quite short.
Inuit girl leaves her culture to attend school on the mainland; loss of culture, etc. Good historical fiction for early readers (3rd-4th grade)
This books tells an important story about the cruelty of some of the "religious" people toward Canada's Inuit people.
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Christy Jordan-Fenton was born on a farm in rural Alberta. Her only dreams were to be a cowgirl, to dance with Gene Kelly and to write stories. As a youngster, she barrel-raced, rode on cattle drives, witnessed dozens of brandings, and often woke up on early spring mornings to find lambs, calves, and foals taking refuge in the bathroom.
Her parents divorced when she was seven, and she moved to town...more
More about Christy Jordan-Fenton...
Her parents divorced when she was seven, and she moved to town...more
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Dec 01, 2012 07:42pm