Phyllis's Orange Shirt

Phyllis, a young First Nations child, is excited that she will be going away to school and Granny takes her shopping to pick a shirt for school – an orange shirt. When she arrives at the residential school, she finds it strange and unfriendly, and then her shirt is taken away from her. Phyllis misses her Granny and being at home and when summer finally arrives she eagerly returns to her family. This adapted version of Phyllis’s story is a gentle introduction to residential schools for a young audience, with easy-to-read text and evocative illustrations. It explores coping with complex feelings, Indigenous and residential school history, resilience, perseverance, and uniting to support reconciliation.