kFatty Legs A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton 102 pages

When Margaret Pokiak was very young, she left her home in the High Arctic with her father to make the five day journey to visit Aklavik. Outsiders' schools with nuns and priests were there. Margaret yearned to attend school to learn to read. Despite her older sister's warnings that "school" meant lots of hard physical work, Margaret begged her parents permission to be taken to school. Once there, she discovered that she had to work long days at back breaking work for months before school began in September. One nun, she calls the Raven seemed to take an instant dislike to her and singled her out for the hard work... and the ugly red stockings that make her legs look fat. Margaret regrets her choice and tries to return home. Her letters home are destroyed and bad weather keeps her captive in Aklavik. Margaret is resilient and survives. Her tale written with her daughter-in-law includes her photos taken 60 years ago. Give this to the young person who complains that school is tough!