When I Was EightWhen I Was Eight

When she is eight, young Olemaun asks to be taken away from the Inuit name and life she knows because she is determined to learn to read. She does not realize the cruelty she will face at the outsiders school. Her hair is cut, her clothes changed along with her name; heavy chores are assigned and she faces humiliation in the classroom until she learns English and her letters. Locked in the basement, she finally gains strength from feeling her father's presence. Readers will suffer with Olemaun's trials in the lengthy text and celebrate her final triumph. Full page, naturalistic paintings are always focused on Olemaun, called Margaret, with the barest of other props. Using mainly dark colors, Grimard expresses the grim qualities of the school, contrasting somewhat with the warmer color of the students and the happy face of our heroine at the end. The story is based on "Margaret's" real life experience.