Uumajut: Learn About Arctic Wildlife!

by Simon Awa, Anna Ziegler, Stephanie McDonald

Which Arctic mammal has the largest litter of any mammal in the world?
Who is the "canary of the sea?"
Learn all about the fascinating wildlife of the Arctic! This book is full of scientific facts and Inuit knowledge about the animals that live in the complex ecosystem of the Canadian Arctic.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2010

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A textually dense (and thus most definitely more suitable for older children, as there is rather a lot of detailed and minute information presented) dual-language Inuktitut and English picture book about Arctic wildlife, Uumajut introduces five animal species that live on the tundra and five that live in the ocean or on the arctic ice. Both informative and engaging, Uumajut provides not only detailed physical descriptions of the featured arctic wildlife, but also of their habits, their ways of life, and how these animals have been used and are still being used by the Inuit, by the human inhabitants of the arctic region (and while this latter fact might indeed be a potential issue for children who are vegetarian or vegan, it is important and in my opinion essential knowledge nonetheless). And just to be clear, that while the text, while the presented narrative does show how these animal species are used and what kind of products are made from their hides and the like, this information is really merely pointed out (and thus, there are no minute, specific details offered, and no illustrations of animals being hunted, and products like clothing and seal or walrus sinew strings being prepared and rendered).

The ten presented animal species are accompanied by full-page detailed illustrations, many of which depict both adult and juvenile specimens; detailed, lush, descriptive, and above all, realistic and not exaggerated, the illustrations are a perfect mirror to and for the narrative, the text. All in all, Uumajut is delightful, informative, engaging, descriptive, and a great teaching and learning resource for both at home and in class use. My only complaint, and really not that much of an actual complaint, but rather a bit of a minor and very personal annoyance, is the fact that because the Inuktitut text is written in syllabics (as it should be), I am unable to even remotely figure out any kind of textual meaning from the Inuktitut words, as I am entirely unfamiliar with syllabics. And with that truth in mind, I think it would have been an added bonus if there had been some kind of a legend provided at the back, showing syllabics and their Latin letter counterparts (but that is just the frustrated linguist in me speaking, as in all other ways, Uumajut is truly a perfect book and remains most highly recommended, and not just for children either).

[Vanessa Lecaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool information book about Arctic animals , also written in Inuq. Great art work. Great book for kids who love animals.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice guide to arctic animals, in English and Inuktitut. I liked that they also talked about how the animals are used by people in Nunavut, for clothing or food. I didn't know that lemming skin can be used as bandages!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super cute and accessible picture book introduction to the wildlife of the Arctic. There was some genuinely interesting information, both regarding the lives of the animals and the way the animals can benefit humans or the ecosystem. The dual language aspect worked well, and I'm always glad to see more stories in Inuktitut. The illustrations were lovely.

Definitely recommended for anyone looking for information on the Arctic wildlife, especially something that would be child appropriate. I definitely intend to read the sequel.