As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
32 pp.
| Alaska
| September, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-1-941821-07-7$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Sarah Martinsen.
Everyone in his Inupiaq village says he's old enough this year, but Charlie doesn't know if he's brave enough to fly so high in the air at the Whaling Festival's sealskin blanket toss. The gentle rite-of-passage story incorporates Inupiaq words and customs, and the expressive illustrations with muted colors neatly convey Charlie's world and eventual toss. An author's note adds context. Glos.
249 pp.
| Cavendish
| October, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7614-5980-4$17.99
(2)
YA
Edwardson sets her ambitious novel in 1960–1965 Alaska, primarily at a Catholic boarding school drawing indigenous children from all over the state. She juggles a large cast of characters and addresses a host of issues, from racism to the institutional abuse of Native Alaskan children to the ingrained animosity between Eskimo and Indian students. The story is powerful and poignant.
179 pp.
| Farrar/Kroupa
| November, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-374-30805-6$16.99
(2)
4-6
In 1989, Blessing and her brother are placed in the custody of their aaka (grandmother). The siblings discover their past through Inupiaq family stories. Readers are primed for these by the novel's first section, where Aaka's mother recounts the events of 1917 in which the Spanish influenza wiped out virtually the entire village. Authentic imagery, details, and language pervade this memorable story. Glos.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2009
80 pp.
| Houghton
| October, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-618-77709-9$18.00
(2)
4-6
Scientists in the Field series.
Whale biologist Craig George works with the Inupiaq community documenting the bowhead whale population and Inupiaq hunts. Lourie conveys George's thoughts on living in such an extreme region and explains his path to becoming a biologist. Numerous photographs capture the piercing whites, grays, and blues of Alaska in the sunny spring as well as the bloody work of taking apart a whale. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.
Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2010
48 pp.
| Boyds
| March, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-1-59078-436-5$17.95
(3)
4-6
Lourie made three trips to the Arctic to witness and document the effects of global warming, which in Barrow, Alaska, particularly affects the Iñupiaq whaling tradition. The text demonstrates the people's adaptive ways, balanced with harsh scientific and anthropological realities brought about by climate change. Striking photographs, many taken by Lourie, support the text. "What You Can Do" is appended. Reading list. Glos., ind.
(2)
K-3
Kumak loads his family onto their sled--it looks like a good day for fish. In this delightful Inupiat variant on the tale of the enormous turnip, when Kumak eventually hooks something, the whole village helps pull it in. The illustrations give a sense of the icy setting and the joyful energy of the people, and the story comes to a funny, triumphant conclusion.
Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2004
6 reviews
Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.
This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.