Simple and compelling First Nations drawings illustrate this dynamic story that teaches respect for the environment and describes the life cycle of the salmon.
Salmon Boy: A Legend of the Sechelt People
Myths and Legends
Two Old Women
Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River area in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine. Though these two women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship,community, and forgiveness will carve out a permanent place in readers’ imaginations.
The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese: And Other Tales Of The Far North
Based on decades of research and extended collaboration with Inuit storytellers, award-winning author Howard Norman’s masterful retellings of ten Inuit tales invite readers on a unique story–journey from Siberia and Alaska to the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. Dramatic illustrations inspired by stonecut art of the Inuit people capture the beauty and mystery of these stories as they carry us–sometimes laughing, sometimes crying–from village to village over taiga, tundra, snow plains, and the iceberg-filled sea.
Hide And Sneak
Inuit author Michael Kusugak uses a mythological figure and traditional Inuit practices as the backdrop for this dramatic story. Allashua ignores the inuksugaq as she plays hide-and-seek. Soon she encouters an Ijiraq–a tiny half-bird, half-human creature who loves to play. Allashua remembers her mother telling her that if an Ijiraaq hides you, no one will ever find you again. Eventually Ijiraq disappears and Allashua gets lost on the tundra. With no idea of which way to go, she heads toward a small block dot on a far-off hill. When Allashua realizes the dot is the inuksugaq and that it can guide her safely home, she understands the riddle of its existence.
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.
The Shaman’s Nephew: A Life In The Far North
When Jewish author/storyteller Sheldon Oberman met Inuit artist/hunter Simon Tookoome, he knew the encounter was special. Still, he had no idea their meeting would result in an amazing collaboration that would span a decade. Through the use of many tape recordings and translations, Sheldon has painstakingly woven the threads of a remarkable man’s life into a book for all to treasure. With Tookoome’s drawings to enhance the text, Oberman has managed to express the cadence and voice of one of the last of the Inuit to live the traditional nomadic life in the Arctic. The Shaman’s Nephew magically transports readers to a cold climate that warms and grows more familiar with every turn of the page.
The Frog Princess: A Tlingit Legend From Alaska
Many men begin to flock to the Tlingit village hoping to make the headman’s beautiful daughter their bride, then retreat in disgrace as none is ever good enough for her. Weary of the suitors and their presents, she proclaims that she’s sooner marry a frog from the lake than any of the men after her heart. One night soon after, a very handsome young man–with slightly bulging eyes–appears on her threshold to fulfill her words, and she follows him underwater to her new home amongst the Frog People. But her peace is interrupted when her parents demand her return to the village, and the maiden finds herself caught in a clash between the worlds of land and sea. In Kimmel’s captivating retelling of the Tlingit legend, with breathtaking illustrations by Rosanne Litzinger, a maiden struggles to find the place where she truly belongs.
Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails
Northern Lights is a beautiful tale that explores the mystical aspects of the northern lights in Inuit culture. Scientists have their own explanations for the phenomenon that occurs when the night sky shimmers with milky white patterns, or displays all the colors of the rainbow. But the Inuit prefer their own explanation: They believe the souls of the dead are engaging in a lively game of soccer, just as they did when they were living. They run all over the sky chasing a walrus head that they use for a soccer ball. This is the story of Kataujaq and the intimate relationship she has with her mother. They do almost everything together; they hug, rub noses and say “Mamaq” which means “You smell so nice.” But a great sickness comes and Kataujaq’s mother is taken south to the white people’s hospital and never comes back. Kataujaq grieves, but is also able to rejoice when she and her grandmother watch the northern lights. This book celebrates family life, intimacy and the glory of nature.
The Legend Of The Caribou Boy
A young boy is having trouble sleeping at night. He is being called to fulfill his destiny, a destiny which lives on today in the traditions and culture of the Dene people and their relationship to the caribou and the land on which they live.
The Old Man with the Otter Medicine
It is winter and the people are starving. There are no fish. They must seek the help of a medicine man to save them. The Man with the Otter Medicine tells of medicine power, the struggle for survival and an important part of the history and culture of the Dene people as it has been passed down through stories and legends for generations.