National Network for Equitable Library Service

The legend of Kaugjagjuk--a mistreated orphan who gains the strength to stand up for himself with a little help from the Man of the Moon--is a traditional Inuit tale told throughout the Arctic.

Re-imagined for modern audiences by emerging Inuit writer Marion Lewis, and brought to life by Kim Smith's beautiful illustrations, this version of the Kaugjagjuk story gives young readers a chance to experience this traditional tale that has been carefully passed from storyteller to storyteller for generations.

This is Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge) in the flesh, co-editor and translator Jaypeetee Arnakak writes in his introduction to this volume of traditional Inuit stories. The underlying events of a story are perfect spots to encode advice, explanations, and landmarks: the medium is the message. Inuit legends and stories are not mere superstitious musings. What they contain is far richer and more profound than what a superficial glance can grasp.

During the short Arctic summers, the tundra, covered most of the year under snow and ice, becomes filled with colourful flowers, mosses, shrubs, and lichens. These hardy little plants transform the northern landscape, as they take advantage of the warmer weather and long hours of sunlight. Caribou, lemmings, snow buntings, and many other wildlife species depend on tundra plants for food and nutrition, but they are not the only ones. A Walk on the Tundra follows Inuujaq, a little girl who travels with her grandmother onto the tundra.

Food quickly grows scarce, during the long winter months for those who cannot hunt. In these difficult time, the grandmother of an orphaned boy wishes aloud for the qallupaluit, strange monsterous creatures that live under the sea ice, to take her grandson away forever. The grandmother quickly regrets her hasty words when her grandson is snatched away and taken to the monsters' underwater lair.

This book provides easy-to-follow directions for completing a successful aglu hunt. An aglu is a seal breathing hole found on the sea ice, and aglu hunting is a time-honoured traditional hunting method used by Inuit for generations. Experienced hunter Willam Flaherty guides novice hunters through the basic principles of this ancient style of hunting, including: How to pack a qamutiq; How to dress for long hours on the ice; How to identify and assess agluiit; How to endure long waits by the aglu; How to correctly shoot and butcher a seal.

Arctic Little Folk introduces young readers to the fascinating, strange, and amusing world of Arctic dwarves, fairies, elves, and gnomes. These tiniest inhabitants of the Arctic tundra are told about in folklore across the Arctic.

Adventure begins when Grandma takes her two grandchildren out for a trip on the lake. After showing the kids how to prepare of a fishing trip, Grandma and the kids enjoy a day of jigging in the ice for fish. Grandma shows them everything they need to know to complete a successful fishing trip, from what clothes to wear, to how to drill and clear holes in the ice, to how to make a traditional Inuit jigging rod. By the end of the day, the kids have a yummy meal of Arctic char, and they have also learned everything they need to know to have a successful day on the lake.

Baby ptarmigan will not go to sleep, so his grandmother tells him a bedtime story.

The iglu, a traditional winter shelter built in the Arctic for centuries, is a vital part of Inuit culture. The qamutiik, a traditional sled used for hunting, is an essential tool whose versatility and dependability have allowed it to endure over time. In How to Build an Iglu and a Qamutiik, Solomon Awa provides thorough how-to instructions on building iglus and qamutiiks, along with general background information on their construction and importance to survival.

Joy is ten years old, living in Apex, Nunavut - a suburb of Iqaluit -and loving life. Her little sister Allashua may be annoying, but all in all Joy loves living at the top of the world in Apex. But when Joy begins to notice her parents fighting a lot more than usual, and her mom staying with her sisters in Iqaluit more than she is home, Joy's perfect life soon becomes a lot more complicated. As Joy navigates her parents' separation and its effects on her family, she learns some valuable lessons about how to cope when life gets tough.