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wannabewriter88:

Fatty Legs: A True Story
By Christy Jordan and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, Artwork by Liz Amini-Holmes

The bookstore at my school is closing and everything is fifty-percent off. I found this poignant memoir, complete with beautiful illustrations and real photographs from the author’s life, hidden on a shelf of mostly forgotten tomes.

The style reminds me of one of the “American Girl” books that I loved so much growing up, but the story is much more moving. So many people don’t know about the terrible atrocity that was residential schools: how we forcibly removed children from their homes, cut their hair, forbid them to speak their language, abused them, and tried to force them to forget their culture.

“Fatty legs,” is a story of how one brave young girl triumphs over prejudice, cruelty, and adversity, in her own small but very significant way. The prose is simple yet well written and the beautiful illustrations really bring this book to life. The photographs that the author included from her scrapbook also make this volume all the more immediate and real. The fact that this happened in living memory makes it even more heart breaking. I strongly recommend adding this book to any library where readers of all ages will have access to it.

This is the 11th Book that I have read in 2013! I have challenged myself to read 213 books in 2013 and blog about them. I cover all sorts of books including (but not limited to!) children’s, YA, fantasy, history, and theology. Follow my progress here @WannaBeWriter88 !

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