Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story

Gr 1–4—Jake, a young Inuit boy, has trouble with his puppy: Kamik has a mind of his own and won't obey him. How will he ever learn to be the great sled dog Jake hopes for? His grandfather comes to the rescue by telling tales of how the Inuit have been raising sled dogs for generations and how to train the dogs to behave. "Adapted from the memories" of Uluadluak, a real-life elder from Arviat, Nunavut, this is less a story than an obedience-training guide or a manual about dogsled teams. While this title offers some sound advice that would benefit any dog owner, such as being patient and kind in order to win a dog's trust, it will have limited appeal to general audiences. The writing is competent and suited to independent reading, but characterizations are kept to a minimum. The colorful watercolor and ink illustrations are lively, suggest movement in action scenes, and convey the Inuit characters and setting. However, facial expressions aren't differentiated, and, despite the fact that this book is based in memory, there isn't a real sense of an exact time frame. There is no glossary of Inuit words or pronunciation guide. This will be of interest mostly to readers in the Far North and/or those familiar with dogsled racing and/or Inuit culture.—Carol Goldman, Queens Library, NY