A Stranger At Home: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton with illustrations by Liz Amini-Holmes is a moving sequel to the memoir Fatty Legs by the same team. It was nominated for a 2011 Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.
In Fatty Legs, Margaret Pokiak is a young Inuit girl who is sent off to a Catholic “residential” school at the age of eight to learn English and the ways of another culture. A Stranger At Home follows the trials of her return home after two years away. Instead of the happy reunion she had long awaited, Margaret (whose Inuit name is Olemaun) finds her own mother doesn’t recognize her and that coming home again is not as easy as it seems it should be.
Christy Jordan-Fenton is Margaret Pokiak-Fenton’s daughter-in-law. She has done a marvelous job of capturing the first person voice of a young, scared Inuit who has been cut off from her roots. The dark-colored illustrations help maintain the atmosphere and the historical photographs fill out the setting.
Although this book takes up where Fatty Legs left off, it is really stands on its own as well. A Stranger At Home is a very readable book that stays with the reader even after the last page is done. Recommended for children interested in history, geography and other cultures.
Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 124 pages
Publisher: Annick Press (July 14, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1554513626
ISBN-13: 978-1554513628
Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, with illustrations by Liz Amini-Holmes
Book provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.
This week’s round-up is at Wende’s Wanderings.
Hi, it’s my first time to hear about Fatty Legs and A Stranger at Home – I read very few middle grade books, so I shall definitely add this to my list of books to read. 🙂
I’ve never heard of these – now I’m looking forward to reading them. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you both enjoy them. Always nice to read books that celebrate people who might otherwise never had been heard.