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Baseball Bats for Christmas

by (author) Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak

illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka

Publisher
Annick Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2017
Subjects
Native Canadian, General, Baseball & Softball
Categories
Author lives in Nunavut
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554519293
    Publish Date
    Sep 2017
    List Price
    $5.99

Library Ordering Options

Description

Life in the high Arctic is beautifully captured in this classic picture book, read aloud in digital form by award-winning Inuit author Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak. The year is 1955 and Arvaarluk and his friends watch as Rocky Parsons lands his plane on the ice in Repulse Bay, a tiny community “smack dab on the Arctic Circle.” Having never seen trees before, the children try to guess what the six green spindly things are that Rocky delivers. One of the boys has a brilliant idea: why not use them as baseball bats? Full of vibrant, richly-colored illustrations, this story gives young readers ages 5 to 8 a glimpse into a time, place, and culture that may be new to them. The Arctic way of life is realistically portrayed by the author, whose narrative voice resonates with the lilt of his native language, Inuktitut

About the authors

 

Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak is an Inuit storyteller who grew up in Repulse Bay, NWT (now Naujaat, Nunavut). During his childhood, his family traveled by dog sled, living a traditional Inuit lifestyle. He is the author of many picture books, including Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails, winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award.

He won the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature in 2008.

Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak's profile page

Vladyana Krykorka has illustrated and designed over 30 books for children. Her work has received numerous awards, including the Toronto Public Library’s recognition of Baseball Bats for Christmas as one of the 100 best children’s books of all time. In the last two years she has conducted art workshops in several Quebec Arctic communities, working with Inuit teachers in the creation of their own books and class materials, as well as textile printmaking techniques.

Vladyana Krykorka's profile page