When We Were Alone

Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award!

A young girl notices things about her grandmother that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her family? As the girl asks questions, her grandmother shares her experiences in a residential school, when all of these things were taken away.

Also available in a bilingual Swampy Cree/English edition. Download the free teacher guide on the Portage & Main Press website.

Author: David A. Robertson
Publisher: Highwater Press
Published: 12/01/2016
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.6lbs
Size: 8.50h x 7.80w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781553796732
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.5
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 195841 / When We Were Alone


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2016
School Library Journal 02/01/2017 pg. 74
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2017 pg. 74
Booklist 03/15/2017 pg. 49

About the Author
David A. Robertson is an award-winning writer. His books include When We Were Alone (winner Governor General's Literary Award), Will I See? (winner Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Award Graphic Novel Category), Betty, The Helen Betty Osborne Story (listed In The Margins), and the YA novel Strangers. David educates as well as entertains through his writings about Indigenous Peoples in Canada, reflecting their cultures, histories, communities, as well as illuminating many contemporary issues. David is a member of Norway House Cree Nation. He lives in Winnipeg.

Julie Flett is an award-winning Cree-Metis author, illustrator and artist. She has received many awards, including the 2016 American Indian Library Association Award for Best Picture Book for Little You, written by Richard Van Camp (Orca Books), and the Canadian Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Award in 2015 for Dolphins SOS, written by Roy Miki (Tradewind Books) and in 2017 for My Heart Fills with Happiness, written by Monique Gray Smith (Orca Books), and was nominated for the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature for her book Owls See Clearly at Night (Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer): A Michif Alphabet (L'alphabet di Michif). Her own Wild Berries (Simply Read Books) was chosen as Canada's First Nation Communities Read title selection for 2014-2015.