Rez Rebel is the 2017 young adult novel by author Melanie Florence. In this book she writes with clarity and honesty about teen suicides in First Nations communities. Set in a fictionalized Cree reserve, main character Floyd Twofeathers, finds that his home community is undergoing devastating change and loss as young adults have attempted and succeeded suicide. His parents have their own approach that threatens to send his father into a depression.
Carey Price: How a First Nations Kid Became a Superstar Goaltender is a young adult novel from the Record Books Series from James Lorimer Publishers. This high interest and low vocabulary title is aimed at reluctant teen readers whose reading is at a grades 3 and 4 level. Recordbooks are non-fiction stories that help reluctant readers understand history and social issues through the lens of the true story of a sports hero.
Rez Runaway is a 2016 teen novel by award-winning author Melanie Florence. Known for tackling difficult and edgy topics, the author turns her attention to Two-Spirit (LGBTQ) youth living in First Nations communities. This northern Ontario teen knows he is different and his religious family offers no answers or comfort. Joe Littlechief is seventeen and questioning his true identity and sexuality. His confusion turns tragic when his teen friends realize Joe is gay. Finding no options or friends Joe flees to Toronto.
Jordin Tootoo: the Highs and Lows in the Journey of the First Inuk to Play in the NHL is a young adult novel from the Record Books Series from James Lorimer Publishers. This high interest and low vocabulary title is aimed at reluctant teen readers whose reading is at a grades 3 and 4 level. Jordin Tootoo is the first Inuk to join a NHL hockey team. His brother's suicide is discussed as one of the challenges he has faced along with some of his successes as a young man and .a major hokey player.
The Missing by Melanie Florence uses as its background the ongoing circumstance of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, this fictional mystery set in Winnipeg explores one teenager's response to a system that has long denied and misrepresented the problem.After a girl she knows from school goes missing and is found dead in the Red River, Feather is shocked when the police write it off as a suicide.
Righting Canada's Wrongs: Residential Schools, The Devastating Impact on Canada's Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Findings and Calls for Action is the 2016 release from James Lorimer and Company's series, Righting Canada's Wrongs. Compiled by Melanie Florence this 128-page title contains more than 300 colour and black and white photographs. This scrapbook-like approach opens with a map of the residential schools located throughout Canada.
Final Report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission volume 1 Summary is publisher James Lorimer's edition of the TRC Final Report Summary. This volume includes the history of residential schools, the legacy of that school system, and the full text of the Commission's 94 recommendations for action to address that legacy. The history of residential schools in Canada has usually been overlooked in standard history texts for Canadian schools. This report brings some of facts to light during the 6-year Commission mandate.
One Night by Plains Cree/Scottish author Melanie Florence is one of the recent SideStreets series from James Lorimer Publishing. This series has edgy and fast-paced novels that combine real-world themes and believeable characters to make for short, heart-stopping books ideal for engaging the most reluctant reader. In One Night, Luna Begay is as studious and serious about her Aboriginal heritage as her sister, Issy, is outgoing and fun.
Anxiety: Deal With It Before It Ties You Up in Knots is one of the titles in the Deal With It Series created to assist adolescents with everyday conflicts in their lives and promotes peaceful resolution. This title examines how students can effectively deal with being anxious or what to do when a classmate has a meltdown or anxiety attack. This accessible, illustrated book helps all kids understand anxiety better and offers practical ideas for coping.
Anxiety: Deal With It Before It Ties You Up in Knots is one of the titles in the Deal With It Series created to assist adolescents with everyday conflicts in their lives and promotes peaceful resolution. This title examines how students can effectively deal with being anxious or what to do when a classmate has a meltdown or anxiety attack. This accessible, illustrated book helps all kids understand anxiety better and offers practical ideas for coping.
