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ᑕᐃᒃᓱᒪᓂᐊᓗᒃ / Way Back Then
Kudlu's children will not go to sleep until he tells them a story of long ago. Before they will shut their eyes, they want to hear about a time long before Kudlu was born, a time when the world was magic. Before they can sleep, they want to hear about giants, animals disguised as humans, little people the size of lemmings, and all of the other wonderful things that existed way back then.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published July 15, 2015
1 person is currently reading
39 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 20 reviews
June 8, 2019
When Kudlu's two young children ask for a bedtime story in this bilingual Inuktitut/English picture-book, he tells them of what life was like in their northern world, "way back then." Young, and full of magic, the world held many wonders, from giants to little people who could change their size at will. Kudzu tells his children how night and day came to be, through the conflict between fox and raven; how caribou came to be on the land, after being accidentally released from their underground home; and how the sea became populated, thanks to the severed fingers of a beautiful girl tricked into marrying a bird spirit. These and many other stories are shared by Kudlu, until the children are finally sleeping...
A delightful bedtime book, one which offers both an exploration of traditional Inuit folklore and mythology and an engaging depiction of a more contemporary, although still traditional Inuit family, ᑕᐃᒃᓱᒪᓂᐊᓗᒃ / Way Back Then pairs an engaging narrative from author Neil Christopher with appealing, subtly-colored artwork from illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok. Many of the stories shared by Kudlu can also be found in fuller form in other Inhabit Media publications - the tale of how night and day came to be in Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt's The Origin of Day and Night (although that version concerns a fox and a hare), or the story of how caribou came to the land as "Origin of the Caribou," in Ibi Kaslik's Tales From the Tundra: A Collection of Inuit Stories - but others were new to me. My favorite, of the latter, was probably the idea of magic igluit (igloos) flyinf through the air, at the request of their residents. I find the Inuktitut syllabary quite fascinating, so I appreciated that this was a bilingual edition. Recommended to anyone looking for Inuit-themed bedtime stories, or for a very basic introduction to Inuit mythology.
A delightful bedtime book, one which offers both an exploration of traditional Inuit folklore and mythology and an engaging depiction of a more contemporary, although still traditional Inuit family, ᑕᐃᒃᓱᒪᓂᐊᓗᒃ / Way Back Then pairs an engaging narrative from author Neil Christopher with appealing, subtly-colored artwork from illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok. Many of the stories shared by Kudlu can also be found in fuller form in other Inhabit Media publications - the tale of how night and day came to be in Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt's The Origin of Day and Night (although that version concerns a fox and a hare), or the story of how caribou came to the land as "Origin of the Caribou," in Ibi Kaslik's Tales From the Tundra: A Collection of Inuit Stories - but others were new to me. My favorite, of the latter, was probably the idea of magic igluit (igloos) flyinf through the air, at the request of their residents. I find the Inuktitut syllabary quite fascinating, so I appreciated that this was a bilingual edition. Recommended to anyone looking for Inuit-themed bedtime stories, or for a very basic introduction to Inuit mythology.
October 27, 2024
Like many youngsters, Kudlu's little ones love to hear stories before they fall asleep. In this bilingual book, written in both English and Inuktitut, their father shares several folktales with the children. It's rather charming how he teases them about telling stories from his youth when all along, he knows the stories they want to hear. The tales are short, ranging from the conflict between a fox and a raven, which results in both day and night, stories about animals who could take off their fur and feathers, and magical men and women who could vary their size, often staying so small that they could fit in someone's palm. Lovely artwork complements the stories perfectly.
January 9, 2016
Written in both English an Inuktitut, Kudluk tells his children 12 traditional tales, one per page, before they fall asleep. This book is a great introduction to Inuit folktales and myths.
June 29, 2024
A wonderful book, or a missed opportunity done very well – you might have to decide on this one. The story is of an Inuit trying to do what his children demand, and tell them tales of the olden times – the earliest legends of their people, when giant humanoids, mahoosive polar bears and even flying igloos roamed the world. The thing is, and the issue with the book might be, that he only gets a very short way into each legend – he tells us oh so briefly of the human boy adopted by the giant, and the other kid that becomes a storm god – and while there proves to be a point for that, a fun and welcome point as well, it's not really helping us absorb the depth of the lore.
The equivalent is some kind of history of Britain saying "and there was a king called Arthur, who had knights that wanted a sacred cup, and there was a king called Richard, who went to battle, lost and while dead was tarmacked over by a car park, and there was a queen called Elizabeth who reigned for ages until recently…" You get the gist, and while there is actually a longer sentence for each and every example of the myth the man gives his children, as opposed to the quick phrase of my pastiche, the text isn't exactly much more elaborate than mine.
The saving graces for this book then are that actually a lot of the Inuit legend can be just a situation that lacks the attack of a complete resolution in the first case, so some of this is excusable, and that the artwork is stunning, from one of this community's stand-out creators. The pointillist style makes it all look distinctive, and the quality is evident from first page to past.
So that's good, but this kind of greatest hits megamix of myth is still a sticking point for me. There might well be realism and a lot of it in how the man tries his best, as seen in this narrative, but I can easily see how both the publishers' target audience and the more global spread of interested readers may feel short-changed. As it stands, it's a wonderful advert for what you can only find in other books.
The equivalent is some kind of history of Britain saying "and there was a king called Arthur, who had knights that wanted a sacred cup, and there was a king called Richard, who went to battle, lost and while dead was tarmacked over by a car park, and there was a queen called Elizabeth who reigned for ages until recently…" You get the gist, and while there is actually a longer sentence for each and every example of the myth the man gives his children, as opposed to the quick phrase of my pastiche, the text isn't exactly much more elaborate than mine.
The saving graces for this book then are that actually a lot of the Inuit legend can be just a situation that lacks the attack of a complete resolution in the first case, so some of this is excusable, and that the artwork is stunning, from one of this community's stand-out creators. The pointillist style makes it all look distinctive, and the quality is evident from first page to past.
So that's good, but this kind of greatest hits megamix of myth is still a sticking point for me. There might well be realism and a lot of it in how the man tries his best, as seen in this narrative, but I can easily see how both the publishers' target audience and the more global spread of interested readers may feel short-changed. As it stands, it's a wonderful advert for what you can only find in other books.
March 15, 2024
This is an amazing picture book, folk tales of the Inuit people told in the way they were orally told, and passed down. So they are not long. They are all snippets, as we would envision them, not fleshed out, but that's ok, because that is not how they were first told.
There are familiar stories, such as the woman who had her fingers cut off, and that is where life in the water came from, such as seals and beluga whales. There is the story of the giant who adopts an Inuit normal sided child, and they travel together.
There are also stories I have never heard, such as the Iglus used to be able to fly. Or that there was a version of the silkies but with a goose.
Germaine, who illustrated the book and co-wrote it is Inuit, and wrote and illustrated the stories as she remembers hearing them. She said that she only drew what she knew was in the story, and no more. These were the true folk stories.
Neil Christoperh has lived in the province of Nunavut for a long time, and always admired Germaine’s work. He has worked for the last 20 years collecting new stories and old, and started the publishing company of Inhabit Media where so many of the Inuit based stories are being published.
The book is written in both Inuktitut (the Inuit language) as well as in English. That way it is accessible to both English and Inuktitut speakers.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Inhabit Media for making this book available for an honest review. It will be published November 5, 2024
There are familiar stories, such as the woman who had her fingers cut off, and that is where life in the water came from, such as seals and beluga whales. There is the story of the giant who adopts an Inuit normal sided child, and they travel together.
There are also stories I have never heard, such as the Iglus used to be able to fly. Or that there was a version of the silkies but with a goose.
Germaine, who illustrated the book and co-wrote it is Inuit, and wrote and illustrated the stories as she remembers hearing them. She said that she only drew what she knew was in the story, and no more. These were the true folk stories.
Neil Christoperh has lived in the province of Nunavut for a long time, and always admired Germaine’s work. He has worked for the last 20 years collecting new stories and old, and started the publishing company of Inhabit Media where so many of the Inuit based stories are being published.
The book is written in both Inuktitut (the Inuit language) as well as in English. That way it is accessible to both English and Inuktitut speakers.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Inhabit Media for making this book available for an honest review. It will be published November 5, 2024
August 11, 2023
Hey, what's that unusual writing in the title? Inuktitut.
This is a bilingual book, Inuktitut and also English; a magnificent picture book sharing traditional stories from long ago. Here's one example:
Way back then, animals could remove their fur or feathes like we remove clothing.
When they took off their animal skins, they would appear human underneath.
In an old story, a man found a snow goose swimming in a small lake. Without her feathes, she was a beautiful woman, so he asked this goose-woman to be his wife. She was with the man for several years....
To learn what happened next, read this delightful picture book, Goodreaders.
FIVE STARS in honor of these beautiful stories, recounted by Neil Christopher; stories recounted in a lively way, and also (so it seems to me) with respect for the traditional knowledge.
Thanks, too, to illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok. The style of artwork is distinctive, unique. I'd call it glory-textured.
This is a bilingual book, Inuktitut and also English; a magnificent picture book sharing traditional stories from long ago. Here's one example:
Way back then, animals could remove their fur or feathes like we remove clothing.
When they took off their animal skins, they would appear human underneath.
In an old story, a man found a snow goose swimming in a small lake. Without her feathes, she was a beautiful woman, so he asked this goose-woman to be his wife. She was with the man for several years....
To learn what happened next, read this delightful picture book, Goodreaders.
FIVE STARS in honor of these beautiful stories, recounted by Neil Christopher; stories recounted in a lively way, and also (so it seems to me) with respect for the traditional knowledge.
Thanks, too, to illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok. The style of artwork is distinctive, unique. I'd call it glory-textured.
May 11, 2018
Way Back Then is yet another Inhabit Media release (I have been going through as many as I can find at the local library).
The story of a father telling his children stories works really well here. It uses the framework to introduce many stories briefly (and the twist at the end that he had always fallen asleep without hearing the full stories himself was delightful). Most of the stories he tells throughout are ones that I was already familiar with, but there were a couple that were entirely new to me. Germaine Arnaktauyok is a wonderful artist, and this is probably my favourite example of her work that I have seen. The cover art was everything I never knew I needed.
I definitely recommend this for any age, particularly for people who have read a couple of the stories in full before.
The story of a father telling his children stories works really well here. It uses the framework to introduce many stories briefly (and the twist at the end that he had always fallen asleep without hearing the full stories himself was delightful). Most of the stories he tells throughout are ones that I was already familiar with, but there were a couple that were entirely new to me. Germaine Arnaktauyok is a wonderful artist, and this is probably my favourite example of her work that I have seen. The cover art was everything I never knew I needed.
I definitely recommend this for any age, particularly for people who have read a couple of the stories in full before.
August 23, 2019
Formatted as very short and simple bedtime stories from a dad to his kids, this also functions as an intro to a bunch of Inuit stories. I kind of loved it a little. The art works amazingly well, and it is short enough for an actual bedtime story. I would love to see each story expanded on in separate books.
August 20, 2024
Stunningly gorgeous illustrations accompany several condensed Inuit legends that a father tells his children before bed. This book is bilingual in both English and Inuktitut. My favorite piece of art is definitely the one featuring a giant lemming! I would definitely recommend this for all ages as an intro to Intuit stories-- definitely research more into your favorites from this one!
February 3, 2021
A great intro to Inuit stories and language for children. I appreciated the glossary with pronunciation guide at the beginning. This is the third book I have read published by Inhabit now and I’m eager to see more.
September 17, 2021
If you love mythology, you should definitely give this book a try! It's got mini versions of a bunch of Inuit stories, all accompanied by really neat artwork. I would have loved to have had even more in-depth versions of the stories, though, since they were all so interesting!
July 23, 2022
Another Native story being shared by a white author, which is frustrating. But there are two positives here. One, the illustrator is Native, and two, the author apparently started a publishing arm to lift Native authors and creators. I don't know how well that's going now, but that's a nice effort.
September 27, 2023
Lovely book and introduction to Inuit myths! I was particularly taken by Germaine Arnaktauyok's gorgeous illustrations that were done in the pointillist style yet still incorporated traditional Inuit inspiration in terms of visual style
July 4, 2025
This collection of tales from Inuit oral tradition casts a spell. The soft, expressive illustrations by Germaine Arnaktauyok remind of pointillist paintings and depict the magical people, animals and creatures in the stories. An introduction and glossary of Inuit words are included.
December 2, 2015
In this beautifully illustrated bilingual book, written in both English and Inuktitut, a father shares several short tales from Inuit mythology with his children.
November 14, 2017
Short traditional stories written in both English & Inuit.
May 4, 2018
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January 26, 2017
An Inuit father shares brief origin tales with his children who want to hear stories from "long ago" before they go to sleep.
March 4, 2018
The stories are simple and short. My favorite thing is that it is written in Two languages side by side.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 20 reviews