Shirley : An Indian Residential School Story

★ “Short, often poetic, chapters cover different key memories from Shirley Fletcher Horn’s experience. Each chapter has a correlating mixed media image of photography and hand-drawn illustration…. This work is a collaboration between two First Nation women: the titular Shirley Fletcher Horn, former Chief of the Missanabie Cree First Nation, and Robertson, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation. The book melds both of their backgrounds in art and activism. They took great care in tailoring the difficult and generationally traumatic subject of residential schools in an appropriate and respectful format for school age children. VERDICT This biography is an honest depiction of the cruelty in Canada’s First Nation residential schools from the perspective of a survivor. An important addition to every library’s juvenile biography section and classroom.” School Library Journal, starred review

"Horn maintains a mischievous sense of humor that helps the subject and her peers survive: 'Daring each other to feel alive, we made our own joy,' unadorned text states, recounting time spent swinging on barn ropes or hiding snakes in a pocket. Saturated cartoon illustrations portraying key moments are superimposed over historical b&w photographs of Horn’s journey, culminating in a somber tribute to both the pain and joy she experienced throughout her youth."

Publishers Weekly

"Short vignettes offer poignant snapshots of Horn’s childhood, from being separated from her siblings and enduring illness without appropriate care to the cutting of her hair for disobedience and forbidding elders from using the Cree language around her. Balancing these cruel and painful memories are moments of joyful resistance and survival, such as building camaraderie during chores, proudly defending her tiny self from bigger would-be bullies, and, when dared by a friend, pretending to faint during church to the delight of her classmates. Illustrations using historical photographs and digital overlays reinforce these experiences of mixed emotions and reconciliation."

Booklist

"Shirley’s story is painful yet triumphant.... Robertson’s uniquely powerful illustrations place cartoony, defined figures against often black-and-white photos, prioritizing the children’s humanity with firm and uncompromising lines and shapes that dominate the dreadful reality of the backgrounds."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Engaging, educational, and emotional....The illustrations are very cool – Joanne’s illustrations are superimposed over archival photos from the Shingwauk Indian Residential School. Very interesting way to tell the story."

Anishinabek News

"For children to be taken from those who loved them and to be forced to dissociate from family and their culture and heritage is heartbreaking. Shirley (Fletcher) Horn's story, as shared with Joanne Robertson...is an honest portrayal of her experiences, but still told in an age-appropriate tone. Enough stories of survivors of residential schools and of those who were victimized in those schools are plentiful and tragic. But, because Joanne Robertson and Shirley (Fletcher) Horn take Shirley's reminiscences, good and bad, and focus on her perspective on them and how she dealt with everything, what comes across most importantly is her resilience. As a child, she made herself think of other things, to delve into her learning, and to 'shut off my loneliness.' She fought off bullies, fear, and, most of all, that loneliness. She is strong and gutsy, and she endured."

CanLit for Little Canadians

"Told with clarity and care by author Joanne Robertson, with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn, this true story centres a child’s experience of residential school without softening its impact. It honours Shirley’s courage while reminding readers of the lasting harm of these institutions and the strength required simply to survive them."

Open Book

"Through powerful words and illustrations, this book honors Shirley’s lived experiences at residential school while also highlighting her advocacy in ensuring that residential school histories are remembered and taught. Shirley offers an accessible entry point into a complex topic while centering Survivor voices. This book is a moving resource for educators and families committed to truth-telling and learning."

Krista McCracken, Researcher & Curator, Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre