Title: Shinchi's Canoe
Author: Nicola I. Campbell
Illustrator: Kim LaFlave
Publish Date: December 2008
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Pages: 40pp
IBSN: 0888998570
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Picture Book
Series:Shi-Shi Etko (2005)
Shinchi's Canoe (2008)
Age range: 4-7
Annotation: It's time to return to boarding school for Shi-shi-etko but this year is different! It's her 6 year old younger brother Shin-chin's first day! He is nervous never having been away from home to go away to residential school. Together they brave the year while also finding ways to honor their native traditions while being away.
Plot Summary: Canadian native children, Shi-shi-etko and her brother Shin-chin attend boarding school and there have to subscribe to traditions, small meals, church masses, and other things (like language barriers) that are very different from their culture. Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chin didn't want to be away, nor did their family want to send them away. But, at this time in Canadian law they don't have a choice. Shinchi finds his strength and connections to his background and home by the side of the river. There he knows he can go home around the time the salmon return. This is a harsh story of native people, full of harsh realities, however it is made beautiful (almost like a song of love to the native traditions) as well written in a way that children can access.
Personal Response: As an American, I have severe reactions to social injustice like in my feelings towards US native peoples. So this story hits a relatable story to me. I think that it's important to have books like this to share with children as well as adults and it fosters a compassionate understanding of others and our history. And what's more, if this is in your history it would have even more worth!
Nicola I. Campbell: http://www.lookingforwardlookingback.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=79
Illustrator Kim LeFave: http://www.klafave.com/
