This sequel to Shi-shi-etko (Groundwood, 2005) details the Indian boarding school experience of Native children in the United States and in Canada, where this story is set. Forced by law to leave home to attend government-run schools where their language and culture are suppressed, siblings Shi-shi-etko (called Mary at school) and Shin-chi (David) are not allowed to speak to one another so strict are the rules and so regimented the hours of their day. When he can bear missing his family no longer, Shin-chi sends the tiny carved canoe his father gave him down the river toward home. He knows he and Shi-shi-etko will follow when the school year finally ends. Days turn into weeks, and then months. There are bright spots, like Shin-chi’s new friend, John. But the brightest of all is when June arrives he and Shi-shi-etko are homeward bound at last. A graceful narrative from Nicola Campbell (Interior Salish and Métis) is set against Kim LaFave’s sepia-toned artwork that deftly contrasts the warmth of the outdoor world, even in winter, with the sterile boarding school environment. (Ages 7–10)

Shin-chi and his older sister, Shi-shi-etko, spend long months away from their family and village at an Indian residential school, where they endure many injustices. A toy canoe made by his father helps keep Shin-chi’s spirit alive. Warm, brown tones are used in the illustrations, which are based on ar chival photographs. Introductory notes provide information about the period of history beginning around 1860 and lasting more than one hundred years, during which tens of thousands of children were removed from their homes and required to attend Indian boarding, mission, and industrial schools in the United States and Canada. Sequel to Shi-shi-etko (2005). 2009 USBBY Outstanding International Books List. ca

Forced to use only people's English names and not speak to his siblings at school, Shin-chi holds fast to the canoe given to him by his father, hopeful that things will then improve for his family and the tribe he loves.