Grade 6 · Class Reads · Book guide
A Stranger at Home
by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
After two years at residential school, Margaret Pokiak-Fenton returns to her Inuvialuk family in the Arctic. She has been made to forget her language and ways of living, and must begin reconnecting with home.
Book details
Format
Illustrated memoir
Suggested age range
Ages 9–12
Why read it together?
A book worth talking about
The memoir centres Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's own experience and an Inuvialuk family perspective. Photographs, illustrations, and historical documents support careful study of truth, forced assimilation, family strength, and cultural continuity.
- Inuvialuk identity
- Language and cultural reconnection
- Family
- Residential-school history
Before reading
Get ready to wonder
- Why should survivor and community voices remain central when learning about residential schools?
- How can photographs, illustrations, and memoir each contribute different evidence?
During and after reading
Talk about the text
- Why does Margaret feel like a stranger, and how does the title develop across the memoir?
- How do the text and visual sources work together to communicate lived experience?
- Which family and community actions support reconnection and belonging?
Writing invitation
Respond to the book
Analyze how one text or visual feature communicates Margaret's experience of returning home. Centre the memoir's evidence and context.