Winnipeg's TD Kids Book Club celebrates intergenerational storytelling with David A. Robertson
During this year's TD Kids Book Club event in Winnipeg, 125 children from Laura Secord and Heritage Schools discussed the importance of identity with David A. Robertson, the author of When We Were Alone, a picture book about residential schools.
Students between Grades 2-4 gathered in the hall dedicated to Truth and Reconciliation at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to ask Robertson about his book and about the history of residential schools in Canada.
When We Were Alone was nominated for the 2017 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, and the Winnipeg event was one of six TD Kids Book Clubs taking place across Canada.
Students listened as Robertson recalled his father's experience of learning English at a day school. Cree became the language his father spoke with his friends, but they had to hide from their teachers to do so. The personal account allowed students to draw parallels between Robertson's life and his book.
After a reading and Q&A session with the author, conducted by The Weekend Morning Show's Nadia Kidwai, students had the opportunity to ask their own questions about this period in Canadian history.
Community members also participated in a reading of When We Were Alone, with Winnipeg's Geraldine 'Gramma' Shingoose taking on the role of the grandmother and her friend Emily Boxshall reading the part of the granddaughter.
