This is a history lesson, most people in the North American continent need. This is based on the true story of the author’s grandmother, who unfortunately had to live through the residential schools in Canada. The story is told of her being cold and hungry and abused, and how these little girls were ingenious and sewed secret pockets and stole away in the middle of the night to the kitchen to steal food to feed themselves and their friends, because the priests and nuns were not sharing. This is a part of American and Canadian history that has not been taught and it has only been with the recent findings of mass graves that the schools have hit the news and people have started to learn what happened. It’s stories like this that tell why these events are important, not just now, but into our future as we watch our modern society once again, trying to “other” different groups of people into nothingness.

Stories of survivors are so important. I've learned more about residential schools from indigenous people than I ever did in school. These stories need to be told especially from the survivors, so we know the full scope of it. To learn, to change, to hopefully prevent from happening again. There is no reason for this to be a banned book. Everyone should add it to their collection.

Books like this are very important, they teach us the actual history of Residential Schools. We need stories like this, and we need to acknowledge the history and how it affects society today.

That said...I didn't enjoy this book. I can't put my finger on why, it was well written, the illustrations were nice. I don't feel that students would gravitate to it themselves, but as a read aloud they'd listen. I have books with similar stories in my collection that I read through the year every year, and was hoping to add this one to that collection, but it didn't grab me. I feel this is a me issue, so please give the book a chance, again I can't put my finger on what could have been different.

The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki, art by Carrielynn Victor, is a moving and vital story about Indigenous resilience in the face of Canadian genocide. It follows the residential school story of Janicki's mother, and the sewing that helped keep them fed at an abusive school. It's definitely a good book to include among the first a child reads about residential schools. The art isn't really my taste (although I've read something else illustrated by Victor and loved her work there), but I do think it tells the story well, and allows us to focus on Mary, her family, and her school friends. The story of Mary first revealing her story of The Secret Pocket is also included, and very moving. Definitely recommended!

The true-life story of the author’s mother’s childhood, barely surviving in a Canadian residential school. Only a few pages near the end were about the “secret pocket,” but that is in no way to this book’s detriment. The true focus of the story is the unending atrocities committed by the Catholic residential school authorities. Starvation, cultural genocide, isolation, and severe corporal punishment, and also the ways the school hid what they did, even from family visitors.

This is just one of the many stories being raised up to finally bring recognition to the tragic history of residential schools. For a children’s focus, it has to walk a fine line between between a full, overwhelming truth and making things too sanitized for kids. I think this book does a great job for a 4-8 age range, but it definitely should be read WITH a parent, instead of just given to a child. Discussions will be needed.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

True story!

A tale that tugs, confronts and horrifies. The Residential Schools are a byword for all that’s wrong with what happened to First Nations people’s in Canada. (This story is universal in its scope of what happened historically to First Nations people’s throughout the new world)
The lengths the children had to go to to survive is a stain on any nation’s soul.
To my mind the tale has a First Nations storyteller’s lyrical cadence. The illustrations match the voice.
I was not aware that some children were able to go home. Interesting to note that “home” was always in different colors to those used for the school experience.
The ingenuity of the girls sewing their pockets gave hope to their small community. The fact that they had to go to these lengths speaks louder than words as to the treatment they were receiving.
So many talking points to open up discussions of the past, present and future for First Nations Peoples. I struggle to make an adequate response in the face of so simply yet baldly presented facts. The storyteller’s voice adds weight, simply and straightforwardly spoken.
The author and illustrator are of First Nations heritage and bring an authoritative tone, and a living knowledge to this work.
Suitable for young children.

An Orca ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

[ARC provided by Orca Book Publishers through NetGalley - thank you so much for the opportunity to experience this beautifully impactful children's book]

The Secret Pocket is a true story; it is a story that lives in the spaces of this country's history that so many try to ignore, but it is a story that is becoming more widely heard and understood through the guidance of works by incredible Indigenous storytellers. Peggy Janicki is no exception, and neither is her work here: which retells Janicki's mother's own story of residential school, the little girls who would sew pockets into their clothing to hide food to give to the younger children, and how a person might survive through genocide.

It is a lot to unpack, but Janicki's writing and Victor's illustrations provide a story that is told in an accessible way - which is so important when we're looking at how these stories can be told to new generations so that history may not repeat itself, and changes may continue to be made in the path towards reconciliation.

This children's book is a celebration of resilience and hope and the power of Indigenous culture and community. This one belongs in the classrooms, and everywhere else where a child might pick it up and learn more (And, honestly? It wouldn't hurt if a few more adults picked it up as well as a lesson in empathy and broader understanding).

Thank you Netgalley for letting me review this story. My opinions are entirely my own.

The Secret Pocket is a sad, yet beautiful true story about resilient, smart and brave little girls in a residential school in BC. Using the images colors to paint the emotions on each page is a genius touch.

I loved the story, but I believe the Author's notes was my favorite part. It hammers home not only did the Church fail, but there are now generations proving them wrong.

This book was lovely. I'm always glad to see more Indigenous stories written by Indigenous authors, and this one is particularly special because it's the author's mother's story. There are more and more books being published about the horrors of the residential school system - this is another important story being added to the rising voices of those who were and are impacted by this genocide technique. What I love in particular is the ending, as it focuses on the future and solidifies a sense of survival along with a current sense of thriving. The illustrations bring a sense of comfort and emphasize the Indigenous children's perspectives within the school.

Be sure you add this book to your shelves and recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about the residential school system (and not just in November!). Orca Book Publishers are doing great work - they provided an early copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Miigwech for reading!

This nonfiction picture book shares a true story about the author's mother, who was forced to attend a residential school. She and her friends sewed secret pockets into their clothes to hide food, which they shared with other children to help them survive the privations of their lives. The book introduces young readers to the injustices of this setting and the strength of these girls to overcome.

Although this book covers an important historical reality, I found it somewhat lacking. I didn't care for the illustrations, which felt unfinished, and I felt that the story did a lot of telling rather than showing. The characters don't feel developed, and it mainly seems like a catalog of bad experiences and good messages, without it feeling enough like a story. Also, the emphasis on sewing as a reflection of indigenous "genius" was strange to me, since sewing is a basic life skill that most girls of the era were familiar with.

These girls honored their heritage and each other through their creative solution to food restrictions, since the women in their society had passed on sewing skills to them. However, most girls in that era learned how to sew, regardless of their racial or cultural background. Although these girls used their sewing abilities in a unique and powerful way, I felt that the book oversold this by making it sound like their skill was more unique and culturally specific than it is.

This true story tells the tale of Indigenous children taken to residential schools where they were forced to leave their culture behind. Starving, they hatched a plan to smuggle food from the kitchen by using their sewing talents and rags to sew secret pockets into their clothing. The author’s note explains the tradition carried on throughout their family history to honor their genius.

I loved this book and the strength and resilience it shares. OwnVoices texts are so important, and this book would be beneficial for any student to read and take in.

The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki is a true story about a girl named Mary that was sent to Lejac residential school along with her sister and brother. The residential school is far away from Mary's home. The school is run by Nuns who are very strict and have even forbidden the children from speaking in their native tongue Dakelh. The nuns starve the children. The girls come up with a plan of survival. They sew secret pockets in their dresses to hide food for themselves and the younger children. This is a story of survival, bravery and hope. The illustrations by Carrielynn Victor are gorgeous and fill the story full of life. I think this is a story for every child because it teaches a child that they can survive and be smart and brave in tough situations. Thank you Orca Book Publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested access to this ARC both out of interest and because I needed access for work.

This very much lends itself to being read aloud. Hearing Janicki's mother's story of her time in the Lejac residential school feels so important because we are losing the people who can share these first hand accounts as time passes. It captures a moment of resilience -- little girls using the sewing skills their mothers and aunties and grandmothers have taught them, to sew secret pockets in their clothing and hide extra food to share amongst their neglected peers.

The illustrations are striking! Not necessarily to my taste -- I tend to be drawn to really stylized illustrations and simple small colour palettes. Realistically represented people in illustrations always feel a little uncanny valley to me. But I also cannot envision the style of illustration I'm drawn to working in the context of this story. Like, I find Victor's illustrations unsettling to look at and that works in this case. (Hope that makes sense?)

Overall, I really enjoyed how the story and the uncanny illustrations combined to create this piece of art.

The Secret Pocket, written by Peggy Janicki and Illustrated by Carrielynn Victor is a beautiful story that shows the horrible conditions indigenous children encountered in residential schools. The tale is told from the point of view of one of the children who suffered first hand the abuses of starvation, physical abuse, and cruelty that is a Hallmark of these residential schools. The rich illustrations portray how close knit the children became as they fought day by day to survive with skills and trades they learned from their families and culture. This is the kind of story that children should be learning about in school. The hope and courage of the children and their legacy of strength and love is a wonderful message that is sewn through the entire tale.

Illustration style was not to my liking. And while, obviously, the rez schools treated their pupils horrible, this story didn’t endear me to Mary or the others. It felt like it was told at a distance and without enough emotion.

A touching book based on the author’s mother’s story. As a young child, Mary is sent to a government school where she is always hungry. She and her friends secretly sew pockets so they stash food and survive.
The book is beautifully illustrated and while the story is simple, it’s profound. It shows the resiliency of children and their resourcefulness. The cruelty of the nuns and priests is a side story, but an important theme.
It’s a good book to introduce a sensitive topic.

This is such a great, important story and I’m so glad the author is sharing it. The illustrations are a perfect accompaniment and it conveys the harsh reality of residential schools but with the kind of colors and tone that the hope, resilience, and future these girls were able to build for themselves and their descendants shows how unsuccessful the attempted genocide was.

The Secret Pocket is a true story told to the author by her mother about her time in an indigenous residential school in Canada. At the time, the Canadian government placed indigenous children in residential schools funded by the government and run by churches. The children were torn from their families and taken far away to the often brutal residential schools. The purpose was to isolate them from their culture and assimilate them into the ways and religion of the dominant Canadian culture. They were forbidden to speak their native language or behave in any of the ways they had been brought up, with severe punishments for disobedience.
Mary was just 4 years old when she was taken to a school far away from her family. She was not yet old enough for kindergarten so she wandered the halls while the other children were in class. When she was older, she and her friends used the sewing skills they had been taught by their mothers and grandmothers to sew pockets in their petticoats. They used these pockets to smuggle extra food, particularly to share with younger girls, to supplement the less than adequate meals they were provided. The lore of their indigenous people helped them to survive the harsh assimilation imposed on them - a wonderful turnabout of the attempt to separate them from their culture.
The illustrations are sparing but nicely done, with much more color and love in the pictures of home than of the school - very indicative of the story.
A beautiful afternote to this story is that the story has been placed in specially sewn pockets in the graduation robes of indigenous graduates of University of Fraser Valley, Chilliwack Senior Secondary School and Mission School DIstrict.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the ARC of this educational book.

Stories of how the indigenous people survived residential school are both heartening, and sorrowful. This is based on a story that the author’s mother told her, of how she survived.

Before this book was created, the author made sure that all Indigenous student graduating from University and high school in the Fraser Valley (of British Columbia) were given their own secret pocket with the story that we have in this picture book.

The story tells how the children were taken from their homes, and put in the schools that would not allow them to speak their own language, and would not feed them enough. They learned to eat toothpaste to feel better between meals. But the main character had been taught to sew, and so she and her friends took to sewing secret pockets into their clothes, so they could steal extra food from the kitchen that they could eat later.

Both the author and the illustrator are of local First Nations communities.

Highly recommended.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>