Tanya Tagaq

From the internationally acclaimed Inuit throat singer who has dazzled and enthralled the world with music it had never heard before, a fierce, tender, heartbreaking story unlike anything you've ever read.

Fact can be as strange as fiction. It can also be as dark, as violent, as rapturous. In the end, there may be no difference between them.

A girl grows up in Nunavut in the 1970s. She knows joy, and friendship, and parents' love. She knows boredom, and listlessness, and bullying. She knows the tedium of the everyday world, and the raw, amoral power of the ice and sky, the seductive energy of the animal world. She knows the ravages of alcohol, and violence at the hands of those she should be able to trust. She sees the spirits that surround her, and the immense power that dwarfs all of us.

When she becomes pregnant, she must navigate all this.

Veering back and forth between the grittiest features of a small arctic town, the electrifying proximity of the world of animals, and ravishing world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions between good and evil, animal and human, victim and transgressor, real and imagined lose their meaning, but the guiding power of love remains.

Haunting, brooding, exhilarating, and tender all at once, Tagaq moves effortlessly between fiction and memoir, myth and reality, poetry and prose, and conjures a world and a heroine readers will never forget.

Awards

• Winner of the 2019 Indigenous Voices Awards for Published Prose in English.
• Winner of the 2018 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design – Prose Fiction

Reviews
“Tagaq’s surreal meld of poetry and prose transmutes the Arctic’s boundless beauty, intensity, and desolation into a wrenching contemporary mythology.” –The New Yorker

“Though the protagonist’s coming-of-age story, generously and lovingly documented by Tagaq, is the anchor, Split Tooth is not a book that can be fully absorbed in one sitting. It’s possible to sink deeper and deeper into the narrative with each successive reading. Like a smirking teenager, Split Tooth blithely gives typical literary expectations the finger, daring us to see and experience narrative as chaotic, emotional, and deeply instinctive. And it succeeds.” –Quill and Quire

“Tanya’s book is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever read. It’s deeply profound, emotional and personal, and furthers her artistic experimentation and genius into a new realm. I love her even more after reading it, and I’m once again awed by her talent.” –Jesse Wente, CBC Broadcaster

"[A] forceful coming-of-age tale.” –Toronto Life magazine

Additional Information

Beautifully illustrated with a cloth-like spine, this imaginative picture book shares an Inuk child's experience with gratitude and celebrates family connections from the newest siblings to cherished Elders.

A young boy, Kalluk, leaves his camp to tell his grandmother that his mother is about to have a baby. Along the way, Kalluk meets different animals and he asks them why they are so happy. The rabbits say they love to be fast enough to outrun the fox and clever enough to know when to hide. They are happy to protect each other from the winter wind: "I'd give you my tail if I could!" they say. A mother fox tells the boy her pups make her happy (and her pups say their mother makes them happy: "We would give her our tails if we could!" they say. Even the river and the wind have reasons to be happy. Kalluk's encounters with nature make him reflect on his gratitude for all it provides.

On the trip back, Kalluk and his grandmother talk about happiness, peace and choices. They speak to the ravens and get a lift from the wind right to Kalluk's doorstep. And waiting inside is a new baby sister! Holding her in his arms, Kalluk discovers a new reason to be thankful.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 7.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 8.00" | Hardcover

This beautifully crafted picture book celebrates one of the world's most awesome animals: the polar bear. Evocative but simple text by award-winning musician and artist Tanya Tagaq is accompanied by striking art in this classic counting book.

Beginning with 1 proud polar bear standing tall and ending with 10 bears waving goodbye, this delightful counting book shows polar bears in all their forms: slippery and fast, crafty and cool, hungry and proud. Tanya has created a story meant to be read aloud, incorporating simple Inuktitut words and using her keen ear for the musical sound of language.

This book is joyful, powerful, clever and striking — much like the bears who sniff, slide, swim, hunt, play and dance through its pages. And when you get to the last page, you won't be able to resist going back to repeat the journey!

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 7.

Concepts: Counting & Numbers; Animals - Polar Bears.

This book is meant to be read aloud and incorporates simple Inuktitut words.

Additional Information
24 pages | 10.50" x 9.00"