Not My Girl

September 1, 2014

Gr 2-5-A poignant picture book memoir about an Inuit girl reconnecting with her culture. When I Was Eight (Annick, 2013), based on author Pokiak-Fenton's experiences, introduced eight-year-old Olemaun, an Inuit girl growing up in Canada's Northwest Territories. She was sent by her family to an outsiders' school, where she learned to read and speak English. At her new school, which was run by nuns, Olemaun's long braids were cut short, she was given the name Margaret, and she grew thin from doing hard labor and eating poorly. This experience caused her to lose contact with her native Inuit language and culture. This sequel is the continuation of her story: two years later, Olemaun returned to her family and struggled to assimilate into her native culture. Olemaun's mother, greeting her as she arrived, barely recognized her daughter and shouted, "Not my girl!" However, her father embraced her with tenderness, and the family took to her once more. The transition Olemaun made back into Inuit culture proved difficult because while she was away, she "lost the skills [she] needed to be useful...[to] help feed the family..." but soon she relearned her family's customs and, in turn, aspired to honor her native traditions, and language. Clear and easy-to-read text is appropriately spaced, making this an ideal picture book for independent or prechapter book readers. Culturally relevant, accurate, and soft, painterly illustrations depict the sequence of events and reinforce the bittersweet and tender reunion of Olemaun with her family. Readers who haven't read the first book may be confused. However, this is an excellent illustrated biography, overall.-Natalie Braham, Denver Public Library

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Starred review from June 15, 2014
Ten-year-old Olemaun describes her return from two years at the outsiders' school and her slow re-entry into her family's Inuit world.When Olemaun (co-author Pokiak-Fenton) returns to her family, both her mother and her father's dogs fail to recognize her. She's grown tall and skinny, her hair has been cut short, she has a different smell. She no longer understands the family's language and finds the food inedible. Her best friend isn't allowed to play with her anymore. Appropriately for the young audience, the authors deal gently with the child's trauma, showing how, in every case, things get better. The skills Olemaun acquired at school help her nurse a puppy she mistakenly kept too long from its mother. And, she learns to drive a dog sled, making her own mother proud. As they did with Margaret's boarding school years in When I Was Eight (2013), the authors have distilled the years covered in A Stranger at Home (2011) into a moving picture book. The first-person narrative is set against Grimard's dramatic paintings, which depict family members shown in close-ups and wide-angle views that take in the dramatic scenery of northern Canada. The sky colors are particularly effective-the varying blues and orange of day and the reds and greens of the nighttime northern lights.Another compelling version of an inspiring story. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

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