"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 is from Baker Lake, Nunavut. She attended Concordia University in Montreal. Growing up, formal education was strongly encouraged by her grandmother, alongside traditional Inuit beliefs. After high school, Paula attended Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Ottawa. There, she learned much about Inuit history and culture. She realized how important it is to connect with her culture and began to learn as much as she could after her year in the program. She is currently an elementary school Inuktitut teacher in Baker Lake and the co-owner of Hinaani Designs. Her first book for children was The Legend of Lightning and Thunder, which was shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children.

Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt's profile page

Lenny Lishchenko is not a boy. She is an illustrator, graphic designer, and comic maker, who will never give up the chance to draw a good birch tree. Ukrainianborn and Canadian raised, she’s interested in telling stories that people remember years later, in the early mornings where everything is quiet and still. She’s worked with clients such as Lenny Letter, Power Athletics Ltd. Alberta Venture, and Rubicon Publishing, and is based out of Mississauga, Ontario.

Lenny Lishchenko's profile page

• Short-listed, Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards - Shining Willow Award
• Short-listed, 2019 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award

"Rumbolt grew up listening to traditional Inuit stories and customs shared by her family and other elders. Her cadenced retelling of this traditional origin story will help young readers learn how to compromise and problem solve. Lishchenko’s deliberate palette of black and white, plus touches of a few other colors, plays strikingly with negative and positive space and adds a subtle dimension to this story of opponents learning how to coexist. Spare and beautiful."— ★ Kirkus, STARRED review

"A simple story told with mighty text and illustrations, The Origin of Day and Night enlightens about beginnings, people and place."—CanLit for Little Canadians

"[A] picture book you absolutely must see to believe – the illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and shouldn’t be missed."—Raincity Librarian

"This book is a must for every classroom, home, library, business school, legislature, and think-tank on conflict. I hope the United Nations purchase multiple copies! We all need this story of sensitive and nuanced ethical compromises that assure the survival and well-being of those who occupy the land—a shared joint place, a shared ecology and destiny. Highly Recommended."—CM Magazine

"This origin story captures the cadence of the storyteller’s voice as readers watch Siri, the Arctic fox, and Ukaliq, the Arctic hare try to find a compromise that each can hunt and find food."—The Globe and Mail