Inuit

Like A Walk on the Tundra, A Walk on the Shoreline introduces young readers to unique plants and animals found in the Arctic, as well as the traditional Inuit uses for the various species.

Young Nukappia can’t wait to get out to his family campsite on the shoreline. After spending all year in the south with his adoptive parents, Nukappia always looks forward to his summer visits with his birth family. After spending one night in town, Nukappia and his uncle Angu begin the long walk down the shore to the family summer campsite, where all of Nukappia’s cousins and aunts and uncles are waiting for him. Along the way, Nukappia learns that the shoreline is not just ice and rocks and water. There is an entire ecosystem of plants and animals that call the shoreline home. From seaweed to clams to char to shore grasses, there is far more to see along the shoreline than Nukappia ever imagined.

Reviews
“A Walk on the Shoreline also has a full-colour glossary of the plants and animals that Nukappia encounters along the way, including photographs, quick facts and traditional uses of the plant or animal. A Walk on the Shoreline is a well-researched, informative and engaging guide to the northern shoreline. The information is well-placed and woven through the text in an engaging manner. The reader gets to learn along with the protagonist, focusing more on the flora and fauna along the way than the rest of the northern setting. This focus on one detail of living in Nunavut works well; it doesn’t try and add too many details, but it provides a thread along the way.” — CM Magazine

“This reunion story features detailed character and scene-setting sketches by Qin Leng that help readers see how traditional Inuit communities live.” — Hakai Magazine

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 5-7.

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.50" x 8.50"

The beloved story of an Inuvialuit girl standing up to the bullies of residential school, updated for a new generation of readers.

Margaret Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton’s powerful story of residential school in the far North has been reissued to commemorate the memoir’s 10th anniversary with updates to the text, reflections on the book’s impact, and a bonus chapter from the acclaimed follow-up, A Stranger at Home. New content includes a foreword from Dr. Debbie Reese, noted Indigenous scholar and founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature, while Christy Jordan-Fenton, mother of Margaret’s grandchildren and a key player in helping Margaret share her stories, discusses the impact of the book in a new preface.

With important updates since it first hit the shelves a decade ago, this new edition of Fatty Legs will continue to resonate with readers young and old.

Reviews
"I highly recommend this book for the discussion it would stir with students...Makes the harrowing residential school stories accessible to youth." — Resource Links

"Presents a unique and enlightening glimpse into the residential school experience and, most importantly, one little girl's triumph over her oppressors." — Quill & Quire

Educator Information
Themes: biography; Inuit; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous; arctic; school; self-esteem; abuse; community; prejudice; Canadian content; courage/bravery; right vs. wrong; role reversal; secrets; society; history; bullying; memoir; character education.

This resource is also available in French: Les bas du pensionnat

This resource is also available in its original format: Fatty Legs: A True Story 

Additional Information

Authenticity Note
This illustrator of this book is not Indigenous; therefore, her artwork is not considered to be Authentic Indigenous Artwork according to Strong Nations Authenticity Guidelines. The archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's personal collection, however, are considered to be authentic, which is why the book is labelled as containing Authentic Indigenous Artwork. It is up to readers to determine whether or not the images in this work are authentic for their purposes.

Pakak is in a new foster home, with new people, new food, and new smells. Feeling alone and uncertain, Pakak finds comfort in a secret shared with him by his anaanattiaq, his grandmother, and in the knowledge that he is loved no matter how far away his family may be.

Written as a gift for Inuit children in care by foster parents Kevin and Mary Qamaniq-Mason, this book is lovingly imbued with cultural familiarities that will resonate with children who, like Pakak, are navigating the unknown.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 5 to 7.

A heartwarming, beautifully illustrated story for foster children. This book can also be used as a tool to help children who aren't in care to understand fostering.

This book is available in French: Je suis aime

Additional Information
30 pages | 8.00" x 9.00"

There are many tools used in the western part of the Arctic! Learn about these tools and their different uses, from softening skins to pounding seal fat.

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 8 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is K.

Recommended for ages 5 to 7.

Additional Information 
20 pages | 7.00" x 9.00"

Jake and Kamik are finally ready to run their first dog sled race with a full team! But there is a lot to do to prepare, and Jake must follow his uncle’s lead if he and his dogs are going to be ready for the early spring race.

Kamik Takes the Lead is the fourth installment in the Kamik series of books following Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story, Kamik’s First Sled, and Kamik Joins the Pack. Books in this series share traditional dog-rearing practices and dog-training techniques from the remote community of Arviat, Nunavut, through the life memories of community members. These books preserve the rich history of working dogs in Nunavut and celebrate the traditional bond between Inuit and their sled dogs.

Building on the dog-training practices outlined in Kamik Joins the Pack, Arviat, Nunavut, author and dog musher Darryl Baker shares with young readers the basic information needed to prepare a dog team for a race.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 5-7.

Kamik Takes the Lead is the fourth installment in the Kamik series of books. Books in this series share traditional dog-rearing practices and dog-training techniques from the remote community of Arviat, Nunavut, through the life memories of community members. These books preserve the rich history of working dogs in Nunavut and celebrate the traditional bond between Inuit and their sled dogs. Building on the dog-training practices outlined in Kamik Joins the Pack, Arviat, Nunavut, author and dog musher Darryl Baker shares with young readers the basic information needed to prepare a dog team for a race.

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades K-2 as being useful in the areas of Language Arts and Social Studies.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.50" x 8.50"

Akuluk is visiting her family in Nunavut and can’t wait to get out on her uncle’s boat for a ride into the powerful Arctic Ocean. Surrounded by her family, and with her trusty toy polar bear beside her, Akuluk experiences the beautiful sights, sounds, and animals that abound in the ocean and along the shore during the short Arctic summer—from a mother polar bear and her cubs to a family of belugas and tiny Arctic fox kits. As they encounter each animal, Akuluk’s aunt and uncles share with her how each species cares for its young, and how they protect their babies from the other animals who share their ecosystem.

This beautiful story of family connection and respect for the natural world teaches young readers how close humans are to our animal counterparts and that caring for the environment in which we live is one of our most important responsibilities.

Reviews
"Kits, Cubs, and Calves: An Arctic Summer goes beyond summer and gives a picture of life in the arctic for its people, its animals and the land, and it's a great place to visit through Suzie Napayok-Short and Tamara Campeau's work." — CanLit for Little Canadians

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 5 to 7.

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 8.00"

Find out what Lena does on her busy day!

Follow Lena as she goes to school, plays with her friends, and spends time with her family. She learns important lessons about being responsible, honest, and respectful.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. It is a Level 12 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially leveled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. F&P Level of this book: N.

Recommended for ages 7 to 9.

Additional Information
36 pages | 7.00" x 8.50" | Paperback

This bilingual book (with text in Inuktitut syllabics, Inuktitut Roman orthography, and English) shares six Inuktitut terms for caribou throughout their life cycles, giving the youngest of readers an understanding of the rich Inuktitut terminology for these important animals.

Educator Information
This board book is recommended for ages 3 and under.

Additional Information
26 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

“Before schools were introduced to the Inuit, we were taught by our relatives.”

In this picture book, Monica Ittusardjuat shares how she learned knowledge and skills in a time before being taken to residential school. She describes how children learned through playing games, imitating grown-ups, and observing adults around them.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 7 to 9.

Inhabit Education Books is proud to introduce Qinuisaarniq (“resiliency”), a program created to educate Nunavummiut about the history and impacts of residential schools, policies of assimilation, and other colonial acts that affected the Canadian Arctic. This book is a part of that program.

Each resource in the program has been carefully written and reviewed to include level-appropriate opportunities for students to learn about colonial acts and policies that affected Inuit. Topics covered include the residential school system, relocations to settlements and the High Arctic, sled dog slaughters, the use of E and W numbers, and others. These acts and policies created long-lasting impacts on Inuit individuals and communities, which are still being felt today.

The resources in this program include personal interviews, testimony, and writing; non-fiction informational resources; and information about traditional Inuit practices.

This resource is included in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 list as being useful for grades 2 to 4 for English Language Arts and Social Studies. 

Additional Information
26 pages | 8.00" x 9.00"

"Then one day a ‘flyable’ took me away from our world through the sky to a dark and desolate place.”

Jose Kusugak had a typical Arctic childhood, growing up playing games, enjoying food caught by hunters, and watching his mother preparing skins. But he was one of the first generation of Inuit children who were taken from their homes and communities and sent to live in residential schools. In this moving and candid memoir, Jose tells of his experiences at residential school and the lifelong effects it had on him.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 15.

Included in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 6 to 9 for Social Studies, Science, and English Language Arts.

A personal, real story that introduces young readers to the memoir genre.

Inhabit Education Books is proud to introduce Qinuisaarniq (“resiliency”), a program created to educate Nunavummiut about the history and impacts of residential schools, policies of assimilation, and other colonial acts that affected the Canadian Arctic.

Each resource in the program has been carefully written and reviewed to include level-appropriate opportunities for students to learn about colonial acts and policies that affected Inuit. Topics covered include the residential school system, relocations to settlements and the High Arctic, sled dog slaughters, the use of E and W numbers, and others. These acts and policies created long-lasting impacts on Inuit individuals and communities, which are still being felt today.

The resources in this program include personal interviews, testimony, and writing; non-fiction informational resources; and information about traditional Inuit practices.

Additional Information
56 pages | 9.00" x 6.00". | b&w illustrations

Palluq is going seal hunting with his older brother, Inuluk, and his ataata! They pack up their qamutiik and travel for hours to reach the floe edge. Will Palluq catch a seal to bring home to his anaana?

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. This is a Level 10 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is M.

Recommended for ages 6-8.

Additional Information
24 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

What toddler likes getting their diaper changed?

In this hilarious rhyming book, a little boy sees his world crumble around him as his mother prepares to change his diaper. But surrounded by a little love and feeling fresh and clean, he realizes that things may not be so terrible after all . . . unless he ever needs his diaper changed again!

Fun for babies, toddlers, and parents alike, this humorous book brings to life a scene familiar to all parents.

Reviews
"The cartoon-like illustrations from Vancouver’s Emma Pedersen drolly capture the cherubic child’s wide-eyed, histrionic view of his world...The melodramatic, rhyming text offers over-the-top comic relief while keenly bringing the stressors in an infant’s life into sharp, magnified focus" — Quill & Quire

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 2 and under. 

Inspired by the experiences of the author as a mother.

Additional Information
28 pages | 9.50" x 9.50" | Hardcover

When Nellie Winters was 11 years old, she was sent to attend the Nain Boarding School, a residential school 400 kilometres from her home. In this memoir, she recalls life before residential school, her experiences at the school, and what it was like to come home.

Accompanied by the author’s original illustrations, this moving, often funny memoir sheds light on the experiences of Inuit residential school survivors in Labrador.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 11-14.

This book is recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 5 to 7 for English Language Arts and Social Studies.

This book is part of the Qinuisaarniq (“resiliency”) program.  This is a program created to educate Nunavummiut about the history and impacts of residential schools, policies of assimilation, and other colonial acts that have affected the Canadian Arctic.

Each resource has been carefully written and reviewed to include level-appropriate opportunities for students to learn about colonial acts and policies that have affected Inuit. These acts and policies created long-lasting impacts on Inuit individuals and communities, which are still being felt today.

The resources in this program include personal interviews, testimony, and writing; non-fiction informational resources; and information about traditional Inuit practices.

Additional Information
26 pages | 9.00" x 7.00" | Transcribed and edited by Erica Oberndorfer

Ivarluk loves listening to his anaanatsiaq's stories about long ago.

Anaanatsiaq tells Ivarluk about how they celebrated the return of the sun when she was a child and shares stories about what they did during "the great darkness."

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. It is a Level 12 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. F&P Level of this book: O.

Recommended for ages 7 to 9.

Additional Information
24 pages | 9" x 8" 

There is a fashion show at Sapa and Martha's school! Sapa and Martha want to make something special to display at the show. Martha suggests they make an amaut, just like the one her biological mother, Paula, wore when Martha was a baby. As they work on the amaut, Sapa and Martha's friendship grows stronger as they learn more about each other and their families.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic.  It is a Level 13 book in the series. 

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is P.

Curriculum Connections: Diversity and Indigenous Perspectives

Recommended for ages 7 to 9.

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"