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Borders
A Blackfoot boy and his mother, who live on a Blackfoot reserve in Alberta, Canada, pack the car with food, blankets, and clothing and set out to visit the boy’s older sister, who has left the reserve for Salt Lake City. Arriving at the border between Canada and the United States, the boy and his mother are asked to specify whether they are Canadian or American. “Blackfoot,” the boy’s mother calmly but firmly insists, refusing to concede when pressed repeatedly to choose a “side.” Prohibited entry, mother and son hunker down in the liminal space between borders, passing time in the duty-free shop and sleeping in their car overnight. One day turns into two, and then three, before the arrival of news vans prompts the border guards to permit the boy and his mother to cross into the United States. Clean artwork accompanies a tightly focused narrative about a woman who models a strong act of resistance for her son. This graphic novel deftly demonstrates the injustice of requiring Indigenous people to claim citizenship of a country established by colonizers who established geopolitical borders that divide their traditional homelands. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 8 and older
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Graphic Novel
Subjects:
Activism and Resistance
Blackfoot People
Colonialism
First/Native Nations
Irony
Mothers
Diversity subject:
Indigenous
Publisher:
Little, Brown
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 171
ISBN: 9780316593069
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 741.5 King