Akilak's Adventure

K-Gr 2—Akilak lives with her grandmother in a time "not so long ago, when Inuit lived a traditional, nomadic life on the barren lands of the Arctic." When her grandmother injures her ankle and cannot walk, Akilak must journey alone to find help at her uncle's camp a day's walk away. Showing a child's typical level of patience, Akilak feels like she will never reach her destination. When she stops for a snack, she meets a friendly caribou who offers to keep her company and reiterates her grandmother's message, "Your destination is not running away; it will be reached eventually." As they walk, Akilak imagines herself as different animals that could reach her destination faster. Through her conversations with Caribou, Akilak begins to view her journey as an adventure to be enjoyed rather than a destination to be reached. Chua's illustrations are warm and charming, showing the beauty of the natural landscape and its many animal inhabitants. Akilak's imaginings are portrayed as large, sweeping images that rush along the page next to tiny Akilak and Caribou; her imagination seems boundless, and the animals feel important and powerful.