Mahahaa

by Neil Christopher, Babah Kalluk (Illustrator), Jeela Palluq-Cloutier (Editor)

A bilingual (English and Inuktitut) traditional Inuit story from the North Baffin region. Aulaja must stay alone in camp with only her dog to protect her. She has heard about dangerous land spirits from her father, but she has no idea she will soon encounter one–Mahahaa the Tickler, a being from Inuit mythology who can tickle you to death.

40 pages, Paperback

Published September 5, 2023

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Publisher Says: A bilingual retelling of a traditional Inuit story from the North Baffin region, and illustrated by celebrated Inuit artist Babah Kalluk.

Aulaja must stay alone in camp with only her dog to protect her. She has heard about dangerous land spirits from her father, but she has no idea she will soon encounter one—Mahahaa the Tickler, a being from Inuit mythology who can tickle you to death.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Short for a graphic novel, but far too intense for a reader under 10 to read alone so definitely not a picture book. This Inuit myth is actually quite disturbing, but does not contain violence but rather unease and menace...the last illustration I've put on the page is Mahahaa herself, in all her maleficent glory.

The artwork is stunningly beautiful:



I trust that last image shows you why I think it's best for this to stay out of hands younger than ten years. By fifth grade, I would expect that level of uneasiness with such a deliberately wrong-looking humanoid figure to be established as fantastical and exaggerated for effect in the reader's mind. The artwork suits the deep unease of the young girl left alone to face the possibility of confronting Bad Things.

This is one I would, if I planned to gift it to a kid, read first and discuss with the parents. The fascinating writing system, so different from our alphabet, could be a very big draw for a fifth grade reader. I would've been enchanted by it, maybe even inspired to look into the Inuit language. It seems to me like something that challenges the juvenile reader to make a fictional context for the fear of being left alone.

It's a worthy aim, and a wonderful story for a young person interested in other cultures to safely explore, and create, and expand their own storyverse.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really need to read more indigenous books because this was a stunning little story. The art was incredible, and I think it was a fantastic traditional story to get adapted

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What worked:
The characters and story reflect Canadian Inuits and each page contains English language and Inuktut symbols. The English version contains translations of Inuktut vocabulary and the book includes a glossary of these terms in the back. The author wants to ensure this folktale, and others will be passed down to future generations. The story features Aulaja as she leaves her igloo to venture onto the icy lake to go jigging for fish. She’s told by her father to keep Siku, the family dog, close by for protection.
Of course, Aulaja innocently leaves Siku by the igloo while she goes fishing. Readers will scream for her to bring the dog along because they’ve been forewarned that dangers lurk in the wild. However, what would happen to conflict and suspense if kids always listened to their parents? The preface informs readers of the mythical Mahahaa that can tickle its victims to death. This may not seem like a life-threatening monster but young readers can relate to times when their older siblings tickled them to tears. The descriptions and illustrations of a scraggly beast with long bony claws will surely create some shivers. The cover is enough evidence of this.
What didn’t work as well:
The picture book is very short so the narrative is shared in a straightforward style. There’s little embellishment or description so the myth of Mahahaa is the entire story. While the plot develops quick tension, it lacks any character development and doesn’t go beyond a surface-level retelling of events.
The final verdict:
It’s always fun to read tales from other cultures and this book won’t disappoint. The illustrations are a highlight and help to make up for a lack of details in the narrative. Overall, this book is a spooky, quick read and I recommend you give it a shot.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty impressively presented look at a traditional Inuit story, but not one that has a kind of cultural hook to make this go much beyond the region these publishers serve. It's a story of a girl encountering a monster, while alone and on the ice fishing, and as dramatic as it gets, it feels like it could have been written anywhen in the last decades, and has little to make it feel traditionally, instinctively, culturally, Inuit. The only unique spot is the bizarre attack habit of the monster – it tickles its victims to death. It's a bloody scary thing here, if I've got the target age range of this book right, all humongous gaping mouth and teeth, skinny torso, double-length fingers and ridiculous nails on the ends of those. So it's drawn very well, and told compellingly enough, in both the original and in the author's English translation here, but this is a case where I felt it would travel further if it had more Inuit flavour to it as opposed to the generic, fun, junior horror it presents as. Still, I can see this replacing the storyteller round the fire the Canadian regions are losing, and to them it deserves four stars. For the rest of the world, it's sub-four.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.