The Origin of Day and Night
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
"Spare and beautiful."—★ Kirkus
In very early times, there was no night or day and words spoken by chance could become real. When a hare and a fox meet and express their longing for light and darkness, their words are too powerful to be denied. Passed orally from storyteller to storyteller for hundreds of years, this beautifully illustrated story weaves together elements of an origin story and a traditional animal tale, giving young readers a window into Inuit mythology.
Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt
Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt is from Baker Lake, Nunavut. She is currently attending Concordia University in Montreal. Growing up, formal education was strongly encouraged by her grandmother because she realized that this is the way to make it in the modern world. After high school, Paula attended Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Ottawa. There she learned much about Inuit history and culture. She realized how important it was to connect with her culture and began to learn as much as she could after her year in the program. She returned home for a year and learned how to sew, spoke to the elders in her community, and began to feel a very strong connection to her culture.
Reviews for The Origin of Day and Night
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt, who made her debut with 2013's The Legend of Lightning and Thunder, returns to the traditional stories of the Inuit people in this second picture-book. A pourquoi tale explaining how day and night came to alternate in the world, it follows the at first competitive and then cooperative actions of Tiri, the Arctic fox, and Ukaliq, the Arctic hare. One prefers the dark for his hunting, the other the light for her foraging. Eventually they learn to balance their needs, and the demand for night and day...Like so many other titles I have read from Inhabit Media, an Inuit-owned press based in Nunavut, The Origin of Day and Night pairs an engaging retelling of a traditional tale with arresting artwork. I appreciated the fact that although the fox and hare are antagonistic - the fox hunts the hare, after all! - neither is depicted as the villain, and both of their needs are treated as legitimate and important. Finding a balance between the two is something that leads to a benefit for all. I also appreciated the power assigned to words here, as this - the idea that words are a form of magic that can make and unmake reality - is something seen in many traditions. The artwork by Lenny Lischenko is just lovely, and greatly enhanced my appreciation for the book. The color palette is limited, but suitable for an arctic setting, and the figures are stylized and appealing. I particularly liked the scenes with a dark background paper. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, and to anyone looking for children's stories about the Arctic.