Childrens

When We Were Alone

When We Were Alone

  • Downloads：5824
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-01 12:52:32
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：David Alexander Robertson
  • ISBN：155379673X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother's garden， she begins to notice things that make her curious。 Why does her grandmother have long braided hair and beautifully colored clothing？ Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family？ As she asks her grandmother about these things， she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago， where all of these things were taken away。 When We Were Alone is a story about a difficult time in history and， ultimately， one of empowerment and strength。

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Reviews

Shauna ，

It's so beneficial to have this explained from a child's perspective to help me process learning about residential schools。 It's so beneficial to have this explained from a child's perspective to help me process learning about residential schools。 。。。more

Indrani ，

A story that needs the reader to have background knowledge to fully understand the book。 Also read Paying the Land to realise the devastating effects of colonization。 I was shocked that this horrible treatment went on until late 20th century。

Siobhan ，

Beautiful emphasis on survival and resilience in the residential school nightmare。

Heather ，

A lovely book for children on a hard topic， what was taken from American Indians when they were taken to boarding schools。 It incorporates some of the Cree language that they were not allowed to speak and simply illustrates for children what American Indian children were not allowed to do or be when they were taken to the boarding schools。 The story has sad notes， but ultimately is more about how to find empowerment during difficult moments and definitely afterwards。 Highly recommend。

Lauren ，

A simple story with a refrain that the grandmother honors her heritage all the more because people tried to take it away from her at the boarding schools of forced assimilation。 The injustice continues to shape her behavior and she makes a point to try to help her granddaughter understand that she should be proud of who they are。

Ammie ，

This is about events in history that are mostly unknown。 I am aware of it and this is a very delicate way to introduce this time in American history。

Stephanie ，

This beautifully illustrated story begins with a girl working in the garden with her grandmother， her kokom。 She asks her many questions; Why does she dress in bright colors？ Why does she wear a long braid？ Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her brother？ Her kokom very simply explains about the residential schools to which Canadian First Nation children were taken， where all of these things she cherishes were forbidden。 She tells how she and the other children managed to quietly This beautifully illustrated story begins with a girl working in the garden with her grandmother， her kokom。 She asks her many questions; Why does she dress in bright colors？ Why does she wear a long braid？ Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her brother？ Her kokom very simply explains about the residential schools to which Canadian First Nation children were taken， where all of these things she cherishes were forbidden。 She tells how she and the other children managed to quietly resist being stripped of their culture。 This story makes the devastating history of residential schools accessible to primary students。 I love the use of Cree words in the text and my students loved learning some of them。 I would recommend doing some research on the pronunciation before reading aloud as the book does not have a glossary。 I found this title thanks to Debbie Reese's blog American Indians in Children's Literature。 。。。more

Alicia ，

The fictional picture book that could be as real as the next door neighbor- a traumatic experience is recounted and relived by the grandmother when answering questions by her granddaughter at her home from the colorful clothes she wears， to her long hair， to her language。 In this story of a Cree Indigenous woman who was send to an "Indian boarding school" and forced to cut her hair， forget her language， and disengage from her culture and traditions-- but she found small ways to hold on and fight The fictional picture book that could be as real as the next door neighbor- a traumatic experience is recounted and relived by the grandmother when answering questions by her granddaughter at her home from the colorful clothes she wears， to her long hair， to her language。 In this story of a Cree Indigenous woman who was send to an "Indian boarding school" and forced to cut her hair， forget her language， and disengage from her culture and traditions-- but she found small ways to hold on and fight back and she shares them with her granddaughter as a way to respect the past and show the progress toward justice but the necessity of remembering。 It's absolutely a gem of a book with it's soft narration， really a dialogue of the generations that reveals character and history。 。。。more

Sandy ，

I think I'm in the minority here when I say， that I'm not overly excited about this book。 I thought the text was informative and sweet but I didn't like how it was presented。 It was presented like a nonfiction book: question， answer， question， answer。 I think if you're looking for information， its in there but it's not a book that I would share。 I think I'm in the minority here when I say， that I'm not overly excited about this book。 I thought the text was informative and sweet but I didn't like how it was presented。 It was presented like a nonfiction book: question， answer， question， answer。 I think if you're looking for information， its in there but it's not a book that I would share。 。。。more

Molly Dettmann ，

*bursts into tears at the quiet beauty of this book， from the message of hope to the artwork to the injustice of this part of history*

Carolyn B ，

"But sometimes in the summer， when we were alone， and our teachers weren't anywhere around the place we were， we would whisper to each other in Cree。 We would say all the words we weren't allowed to say so that we wouldn't forget them。 And this made us happy。" While visiting her grandmother a girl learns about Canada's residential schools。 She asks: why do you always wear bright colors？ Why do you keep your hair long？ Why do you use Cree？ Why do you spend so much time with your brother？ In answe "But sometimes in the summer， when we were alone， and our teachers weren't anywhere around the place we were， we would whisper to each other in Cree。 We would say all the words we weren't allowed to say so that we wouldn't forget them。 And this made us happy。" While visiting her grandmother a girl learns about Canada's residential schools。 She asks: why do you always wear bright colors？ Why do you keep your hair long？ Why do you use Cree？ Why do you spend so much time with your brother？ In answering the questions， her grandmother reveals some the ways in which residential school children were forced to assimilate （changing their clothes， cutting their hair， speaking English， leaving their families） and how they held on to their traditions "When [they] were alone。"The text is in two forms of Cree （Swampy Cree syllabics and Swampy Cree Roman orthography） and English， and the question and answer format is easy to follow and introduces the topic in a format accessible to younger learners。 。。。more

Erin Staebler ，

This book about Indian Boarding Schools （US） or Residential Schools （Canada） illustrates the stark contrast of how the girl's grandmother chooses to live her life true to her heritage and upbringing compared to what she endured in "the school I went to。" Elements of her clothes， hair， joy， and family are explained in relation to what she had in her home and her community compared to what was forced upon her in the school。 This book about Indian Boarding Schools （US） or Residential Schools （Canada） illustrates the stark contrast of how the girl's grandmother chooses to live her life true to her heritage and upbringing compared to what she endured in "the school I went to。" Elements of her clothes， hair， joy， and family are explained in relation to what she had in her home and her community compared to what was forced upon her in the school。 。。。more

Sue ，

A beautiful story。 When I first heard of the horrors that had been committed against indigenous children who'd been forced to attend residential schools， I was ashamed of what we as Canadians had done to the indigenous people。 I was also ashamed that I didn't know about the residential schools until I was an adult。 This story is a wonderful way to begin explaining what happened at residential schools to young children without getting into the graphic details of the suffering experienced at resid A beautiful story。 When I first heard of the horrors that had been committed against indigenous children who'd been forced to attend residential schools， I was ashamed of what we as Canadians had done to the indigenous people。 I was also ashamed that I didn't know about the residential schools until I was an adult。 This story is a wonderful way to begin explaining what happened at residential schools to young children without getting into the graphic details of the suffering experienced at residential schools。 。。。more

Royal Vale Library ，

When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother's garden， she begins to notice things that make her curious。 Why does her grandmother have long braided hair and beautifully colored clothing？ Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family？ As she asks her grandmother about these things， she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago， where all of these things were taken away。 When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother's garden， she begins to notice things that make her curious。 Why does her grandmother have long braided hair and beautifully colored clothing？ Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family？ As she asks her grandmother about these things， she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago， where all of these things were taken away。 。。。more

Sandy ，

A simple picture book about a grandmother describing her experience at an indigenous residential school。 An informative and touching story。 I would have liked an afterword with more information， as my child was left with many unanswered questions upon reading this book。

Calli Leventis ，

Absolutely beautiful。 Must read， must read-aloud。

Olivia Choo ，

Enjoyed reading even as an adult， but I sure wish I had this book when I was little！ Beautiful story and a wonderful way to start these important conversations early。

Katie ，

Beautiful， sad， and full of pride and resilience。 A child asks their "kokom" （grandmother） about why she does what she does。 Each action is something that their kokom does proudly as a family tradition， after being forbidden to do it for years at a boarding school that tried to wipe out their culture。I do wish that their was a nonfiction page at the end explaining the events to children， but I also understand that these terrible situations were experienced by by many different peoples from diffe Beautiful， sad， and full of pride and resilience。 A child asks their "kokom" （grandmother） about why she does what she does。 Each action is something that their kokom does proudly as a family tradition， after being forbidden to do it for years at a boarding school that tried to wipe out their culture。I do wish that their was a nonfiction page at the end explaining the events to children， but I also understand that these terrible situations were experienced by by many different peoples from different tribes and cultures。 。。。more

Dax ，

Beautiful and a great way to introduce kids to a horrible history that should never be forgotten。

Ivy Moser ，

Heartbreaking and empowering at the same time。

Kristen ，

A beautiful， simple picture book of a First Nations grandmother telling her granddaughter details of the residential school she attended long ago。

Jess ，

A touching story that evokes both the sadness， grief， and loss of family and culture in residential schools， as well as the joy of being with family and freely expressing one's culture。 This story is based on real events。 A touching story that evokes both the sadness， grief， and loss of family and culture in residential schools， as well as the joy of being with family and freely expressing one's culture。 This story is based on real events。 。。。more

AStar Reads ，

Important introduction to the history of the Cree and similar indigenous people for children at a very young age。 I thought the art was beautiful and the message was heart-warming。 However， the only issue I had with this little book was that it ended quite abruptly。

Carol Tilley ，

I read the multilingual version。 A powerful story told simply。

Victoria （Tori） ，

I chose to read this book because it was published very recently in 2016， it won the Governor General’s Literary Award， and it was a Shining Willow Award Nominee in 2018。 This book is inclusionary as it shares the perspective of Native Americans， whose voices are so often left out of our history textbooks and curriculums。 In this story， the little girl observes her Kókom。 Kókom means grandmother in Native American。 I will admit that I did not know this and had to look it up before continuing to I chose to read this book because it was published very recently in 2016， it won the Governor General’s Literary Award， and it was a Shining Willow Award Nominee in 2018。 This book is inclusionary as it shares the perspective of Native Americans， whose voices are so often left out of our history textbooks and curriculums。 In this story， the little girl observes her Kókom。 Kókom means grandmother in Native American。 I will admit that I did not know this and had to look it up before continuing to read。 The little girl begins asking a lot of questions- why she dresses in such colorful clothes， why she wears her hair so long， why she speaks in her language constantly， and why she always wants to be around family。 In response to each question， Kókom shares a story about her residential school experience。 Through each anecdote， the little girl learns that each of her Kókomo’s qualities is a direct rebellious response to the uniformity and control that the residential schools imposed upon her， trying to break her of her pride and identity。 I found this book very interesting， but it left me with A LOT of questions。 I do not know much about the Native Americans going to residential schools。 I do not know if that is a gap in just my educational experience， or if that is a trend for a lot of people。 Upon deeper research， it seems to be a very important topic that should have been covered in great detail in my numerous history courses。 I now have homework for myself。 However， because of my lack of background knowledge， I wish that the author had included a note at the beginning or end of the story sharing more information about the residential schools。 Since this book is so interesting and leaves the reader with so many questions about the residential schools， it would be wonderful for an inquiry project in older grades。 It also has beautiful figurative language that would be worth studying such as "she dresses in rainbows。" 。。。more

Renee ，

A young girl curiously asks her grandmother questions。 Why do you wear your hair long？ Why do you dress in colorful clothes？ Grandmother’s answers allude to the time when she was in a boarding school and her rights to display her culture were taken away。 When We Were Alone is a powerful story of the ways a person can resist oppression， and the ways a person can reclaim their past。

Laolu ，

Deceptively disguised （yes）， as a children's book， It is rather， a persuasive lesson in a history of colonialist and racist suppression。Written through innocent eyes， it is elegant and simple， The Illustrations carry the words and are absolutely beautiful。 Deceptively disguised （yes）， as a children's book， It is rather， a persuasive lesson in a history of colonialist and racist suppression。Written through innocent eyes， it is elegant and simple， The Illustrations carry the words and are absolutely beautiful。 。。。more

Bethany ，

This is a melancholy but gentle introduction to the evils of the residential school systems foisted on Indigenous families throughout y he US and Canada。

Cynthia ，

Simple but full of emotions and meaning。 Nice art and nice writing。 Definitely a book I'd want to share with the children in my life。 Simple but full of emotions and meaning。 Nice art and nice writing。 Definitely a book I'd want to share with the children in my life。 。。。more

Becca Pirie ，

This is a great short picture book， filled with simple and beautiful illustrations。 It reads like a poem， highlighting some of the experiences of Residential Schools - what they sought to eliminate in Indigenous communities。 It doesn’t go into detail， obviously， about just how horrific these institutions could be， but provides a fantastic introduction to educating children about this aspect of Indigenous history。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=When We Were Alone

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=When We Were Alone&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,When We Were Alone&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0