Young Eeka lives in Point Hope, Alaska, well above the Arctic Circle where there is little daylight during the winter months. It’s her birthday and Eeka is hoping that her mother may have found the right fur for the newly made velveteen parka that her mother has just made for her. However, with the coming of a storm, her attention moves towards the safety of her father who may be caught in the great winter storm that has developed while checking his traps. From Eeka escorting her younger cousin home from school, to the stories of survival and legend told by Eeka’s grandfather, young (and older) readers will be introduced to a bit of Eskimo culture. Lastly, Glo Coalson’s lovely and descriptive illustrations are integral to the book.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
White Tails Don’t Live In The City
A look at the beauty of nature and living in the open country by One of Canada’s all-time best-selling authors and British Columbia’s most sought-after public speaker, David Bouchard.
The Inuit (First Americans)
Provides comprehensive information on the background, lifestyle, beliefs, and present-day lives of the Inuit people.
Mayuk the Grizzly Bear: A Legend of the Sechelt People
This is a story of how one great-grandfather decides to give his great-grandson his special name in the Sechelt language. These traditional teaching legends come straight from the oral traditions of the Sechelt Nation.
Salmon Boy: A Legend of the Sechelt People
Simple and compelling First Nations drawings illustrate this dynamic story that teaches respect for the environment and describes the life cycle of the salmon.
Nutik, The Wolf Pup
In an Eskimo village at the top of the world lived a little boy whose name was Amaroq. Named for the great wolf leader who saved the life of his big sister, Julie, Amaroq loved wolves as much as his big sister did.
One day Julie brings home a sickly wolf pup named Nutik for Amaroq to feed and tend. “Don’t fall in love with Nutik,” Julie warns, “or your heart will break when the wolves come to take their pup home.” Amaroq feeds and cares for Nutik, and soon the fuzzy little pup is romping and playing and following Amaroq everywhere. Amaroq and Nutik become best friends, but soon it’s time for Nutik to rejoin his wolf family. Will Amaroq be strong like the great wolf leader he was named after and be able to let Nutik go?
In this adventure-first told in Julie’s Wolf Pack, sequel to the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves Jean Craighead George brings the Arctic world of Julie and her family to a picturebook audience.
Nanabosho and the Cranberries
Sometimes we can be fooled by what we want to see. That happens to a famished Nanabosho when he sees a bush of plump cranberries seemingly floating on the surface of the lake.
Salmon Summer
A photo essay describing a young native Alaskan boy fishing for salmon on Kodiak Island as his ancestors have done for generations.
Shi-Shi-Etko
Shi-shi-etko, a Native American girl, spends the last four days before she goes to residential school learning valuable lessons from her mother, father, and grandmother, and creating precious memories of home.
Arctic Stories
Acclaimed Inuit storyteller Michael Kusugak weaves a tapestry of tales about ten-year-old Agatha and her accidental heroism in the high Arctic of 1958. The first of Agatha’s stories is based on one of Kusugak’s real life experiences, when an eerie, black airship flew over Chesterfield Inlet in 1958. A sleepy Agatha “saves” the community from the monstrous flying object. In the second story, Agatha notices the playful antics of the winter ravens and takes an interest in the many migrating birds. As the seasons change, she begins to favor more beautiful and peaceful birds of spring, until the ravens return. The third of Agatha’s stories takes place in the fall when Agatha is sent to school in Chesterfield Inlet, an English-speaking community south of her home. During an afternoon of skating, Agatha rescues a show-off priest, who has inadvertently demonstrated the danger of thin ice. The three Agatha stories resonate with the nostalgia and affection of Kusugak’s childhood memories.