"Shannen and the Dream for a School" is a rare children's book that is not only informative about Aboriginal people but incredibly inspiring as well. The book is written by Janet Wilson, who doesn't identify with having Aboriginal ancestry but nonetheless does a wonderful job of communicating the information. This book is about Shannen Koostachin, a strong willed young teen who forced the world to turn their attention to the lack of proper educational facilitates for the individuals of Attawapiskat. After a significant fuel leak caused damage to the Northern Ontario community in 1979, things were never properly restored and the people (mostly Cree heritage) were forced to learn in shabby portables. Shannen became fed up with the situation and got the rest of her class to upload a YouTube video showing the nasty conditions and garnered nationwide consideration. Eventually, Shannen led her classmates to Ottawa, where they were able to persuade the Canadian government to finally take action and rectify the situation.
The story is told with clear and striking photographs and provides amazing insight into the lives of those living in small, underprivileged communities in the North. This book is the type of material that is deserving of being in any North American classroom.
The reason I would suggest this information book without hesitation is twofold - One, the book does a superb job of showing an active Aboriginal teen girl in an empowering manner. Secondly, this book won the First Nations Community Reads selection for 2012-2013 and is permanently listed in the archives of top recommended books. The review listed on the First Nations Community Reads website states that this book is impactful for all types of readers and with a solid review like that, I am confident with giving this book a big two thumbs up!
References:
Wilson, J. (2011). Shannen and the dream for a school. Toronto: Second Story Press.
ISBN: 978-1-926920-30-6
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