Our collection of picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC) is available to the public. *Inclusion of a title in the collection DOES NOT EQUAL a recommendation.* Click here for more on book evaluation.
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22 matching books
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Lighting the Qulliq
"How do you light the qulliq? This wordless sequence book shows a grandmother and granddaughter lighting a qulliq long ago." -- publisher
I Am Loved
"Pakak is in a new foster home, with new people, new food, and new smells. Feeling alone and uncertain, Pakak finds comfort in a secret shared with him by his anaanattiaq, his grandmother, and in the knowledge that he is loved no matter how far away his family may be. Written as a gift for Inuit children in care by foster parents Kevin and Mary Qamaniq-Mason, this book is lovingly imbued with cultural familiarities that will resonate with children who, like Pakak, are navigating the unknown." -- publisher
The shaman’s apprentice
"Inspired by award-winning Inuk director Zacharias Kunuk’s short film of the same name, The Shaman’s Apprentice tells the story of a young shaman in training who must face her first test—a trip to the underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below, who holds the answers to why a community member has become ill. Facing dark spirits and physical challenges, the young shaman must learn to stifle her fear and listen to what Kannaaluk has to tell her." -- publisher
Very Last First Time
"An ALA Notable Children’s Book, Very Last First Time comes from one of Canada's most distinguished storytellers and an award-winning illustrator. Eva Padlyat lived in an Inuit village on Ungava Vat in northern Canada. In winter, when people wanted mussels to eat, they searched along the bottom of the seabed. Eva had often walked on the bottom, helping her mother, but today – for the very first time – she was to go down below the thick sea ice herself. Her mother went with her to the shore and out onto the ice. The time was just right. The outgoing tide had pulled the seawater away, leaving only the ice above and the rock-strewn seabed below. Eva lowered herself through a hole in the ice and, by candlelight, had soon gathered a pan full of mussels. There was still time to explore, she decided. But she stumbled and her candle went out. She was alone in the darkness, and the tide had turned. When, at the end of her adventure, she is safe with her mother again on top of the ice, she says, "that was my very last first time for walking alone on the bottom of the sea."" -- publisher
The walrus and the caribou
"When the earth was new, words had the power to breathe life into the world. But when creating animals from breath, sometimes one does not get everything right on the first try! Based on a traditional Inuit story passed forward orally for generations in the South Baffin region of Nunavut, this book shares with young readers the origin of the caribou and the walrus--and tells of how very different these animals looked when they were first conceived."--
In my anaana’s amautik
"Nadia Sammurtok lovingly invites the reader into the amautik--the pouch in the back of a mother's parka used to carry a child--to experience everything through the eyes of the baby nestled inside, from the cloudlike softness of the pouch to the glistening sound of Anaana's laughter."--publisher
A journey to the Mother of the Sea
"The sea animals have disappeared, and people are starving. An old couple, once great shamans, are asked to journey to the Mother of the Sea to find out what happened to the animals. But the journey is dangerous..."--publisher
A promise is a promise
"When Allashua disobeys her parents and goes fishing on the sea ice, she has to use her wits to escape the Qallupilluit--the troll-like creatures her parents have always warned her about that live beneath the frozen surface of the sea. But the only way to break out of their grasp is through an exchange: Allashua can go free if she brings her brothers and sisters back to the sea ice instead. Allashua doesn't want to give them up, but what can she do? After all, a promise is a promise. A Promise Is a Promise is a collaboration between award-winning storyteller Michael Kusugak and celebrated children's author Robert Munsch. This 30th anniversary edition brings all of the tension of the traditional Inuit story to a new generation of readers. Added features include a new foreword by Michael Kusugak on his role as a storyteller and the importance of storytelling in Inuit culture."--
Una huna
A picture book about family and community that includes the Inuktitut terms for some common words and phrases.
The caterpillar woman
"Piujuq is a kind young woman who loves to take long walks on the tundra and dance by her favourite lake surrounded by butterflies. But one day, she encounters a stranger on her walk. When this person asks a favour of Piujuq, she happily obliges, and that kindness leaves Piujuq stuck in the body of a caterpillar. Alone, and thinking that no one could ever love her because of how she looks, Piujuq does not return to her camp. Instead, she lives a lonely life on the tundra. Until one day when another stranger appears . . . Based on traditional Inuit story, this tale of inner beauty, kindness, and magic is a perfect addition to any young reader's bookshelf"--|cProvided by publisher