The text is rich in verbs, physical detail and imagery, which would make the book an excellent read-aloud. The young girl’s quest for education and her coming to terms with a cruel adversary and a kind advocate have all the elements of folktale. Readers will cheer for Olemaun / Margaret and delight in the solution she finds to thwart her tormentor. Her strength is tested at the school by a nun (whom she privately nicknames the Raven) who targets her right from the start, forcing her to wear red stockings that draw the other girls’ taunts.

Her father worries that her spirit will be worn down, but Olemaun knows herself to be proud and resilient. Intent on learning to read, the eight-year-old Inuvialuit (Western Inuit) girl persuades her father to let her attend a residential school in 1944 in Aklavik, Northwest Territories. Now, in this vivid memoir, aided by her daughter-in-law, she tells a story of courage and determination. Fatty Legs: A True Storyįor over 60 years, Olemaun (Margaret) Pokiak kept a secret. Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Complemented by archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton’s collection and striking artworks from Liz Amini-Holmes, this inspiring first-person account of a plucky girl’s determination to confront her tormentor will linger with young readers. Although a sympathetic nun stands up for Margaret, in the end it is this brave young girl who gives the Raven a lesson in the power of human dignity. In the face of such cruelty, Margaret refuses to be intimidated and bravely gets rid of the stockings. In an instant Margaret is the laughingstock of the entire school. Intending to humiliate her, the heartless Raven gives gray stockings to all the girls - all except Margaret, who gets red ones. She immediately dislikes the strong-willed young Margaret. At school Margaret soon encounters the Raven, a black-cloaked nun with a hooked nose and bony fingers that resemble claws.

Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential schools.

Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic.

Fatty legs a true story