No Borders: Kigliqangittuq

Gr 5–9—This series title documents a modern Inuit extended family living north of the Arctic Circle. The 16-year-old author collaborated with a local teacher to tell the story of her first visit to her ancestral family home-a trek across 600 km (373 miles) of snow and sea ice from Kugluktuk, Nunavut, to Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories. A full-page map helps readers understand the magnitude of the effort required, consisting of five days of travel on heavily laden sleds pulled by snow machines, at temperatures of 40 below zero. Evyagotailak's conversational narrative shares each spread with an abundance of clear color photographs and descriptive captions. Sidebars highlight the author's introduction to traditional celebrations and survival skills, including building an emergency iglu and ice fishing (jigging) for trout. Back matter includes a pronunciation guide for several Inuinnaqtun words as well as name changes over time, for example, European terminology (Eskimo) that has been replaced by traditional words (Inuit). Additionally, text boxes describe historical cultural markers, such as facial tattoos and Inuit identity tags. The bilingual title, No Borders: Kigliqangittuq, refers not only to families separated by modern political boundaries, but also to the nurturing of traditional knowledge in modern Inuit teenagers. Despite its lack of an index, this book will nevertheless fill a gap in collections about contemporary Inuit life.—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL