When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett, Highwater Press, $18.95
When We Were Alone is a gentle and reflective intergenerational picture book that looks at the effects of residential schools.
A small girl accompanies her kokom (grandmother) as she gardens and asks her questions about her clothing and lifestyle. The granddaughter comments on her kokom’s love of brightly coloured clothing and is told that at residential school all the children were required to dress alike. “We all mixed together like storm clouds.”
She then tells the child that in the fall she and her classmates would roll in the fall leaves in order to be dressed in colours for a time.
The child asks several other questions and is told why the grandmother wears her hair long, always speaks Cree, and spends a lot of time with her brother. All the explanations refer back to the grandmother’s treatment at a residential school.
There is no overt bitterness in these explanations but the facts surely speak for themselves. Happily, there is a sense of hopefulness at the end as the generations carry on their life together.
Julie Flett’s lovely illustrations reflect the happiness of the current family situation with the use of bright, warm colours. In contrast, she highlights the story’s references to school with dull monochromatic paintings that perfectly denote the sombre mood.
Flett is an award-winning illustrator and artist of Cree-Métis descent. The author is a graphic novelist and writer who is an advocate for educating youth on indigenous history and contemporary issues. When We Were Alone is a great addition to the growing number of books on this topic.
Fran Ashdown was the children’s librarian at the Capilano Branch of the North Vancouver District Library. She has read with great sadness the memoirs of residential school students that have emerged lately. For more on this topic check your local libraries.
