Review by Kirkus Book Review
On a beautiful Arctic morning a group of friends decides to go seal hunting.Through water rich with ice floes, five friends set off in their outboard motorboat on a sunny day to catch a seal. The morning passes quickly with clear skies and calm seas, and as they sail, the hunters remember how delicious seal stew is and exclaim how much they miss it. However, they have no luck that morning. In the afternoon, they continue cruising and looking for a seal. The later the day grows, the hungrier they become. They run out of everything: bannock, tea, hot dogs, and jerky! Nevertheless, they choose not to give up but keep going, hoping their luck will changeand at last it does, with a resolution that leads to a full stew pot that evening. The book's text brings a popular song by the Inuit band The Jerry Cans to life for young readers, and its musical origins are evident in repetitive phrasing and catchy rhythms. On all pages the text appears in both Inuktut and English, with the former printed in a large font above the latter in a smaller type. Kim's colorful illustrations, featuring firm, black outlines and bold digital colors, depict the enthusiastic hunters in a mix of knitwear, furs, and nylon. The seal is cute, with bright, black eyes, so it's just as well its demise occurs outside of the frame.Readers will get a snapshot of a unique way of life in this book's enthusiastic pages. (Bilingual picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
