Product Description

Acclaimed Inuit storyteller Michael Kusugak weaves a tapestry of tales about ten-year-old Agatha and her accidental heroism in the high Arctic of 1958. The first of Agatha's stories is based on one of Kusugak's real life experiences, when an eerie, black airship flew over Chesterfield Inlet in 1958. A sleepy Agatha "saves" the community from the monstrous flying object.

In the second story, Agatha notices the playful antics of the winter ravens and takes an interest in the many migrating birds. As the seasons change, she begins to favor more beautiful and peaceful birds of spring, until the ravens return.

The third of Agatha's stories takes place in the fall when Agatha is sent to school in Chesterfield Inlet, an English-speaking community south of her home. During an afternoon of skating, Agatha rescues a show-off priest, who has inadvertently demonstrated the danger of thin ice.

The three Agatha stories resonate with the nostalgia and affection of Kusugak's childhood memories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5367310 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: School & Library Binding
• 40 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Inuit writer Kusugak revisits the tiny Arctic Circle community where he spent his childhood, mining memories of the past in this trio of stories featuring a girl named Agatha. In Agatha's world, everyday life can include waking up in springtime to discover that the family's igloo has collapsed ("She was not inside... anymore; she was outside, in the bright sunshine"). In "Agatha and the Ugly Black Thing," a research blimp flies over the community, frightening the residents, while "Agatha and the Most Amazing Bird" describes the region's many feathered visitors, including a pet raven that returns to Agatha's grandmother each winter. In "Agatha Goes to School," the author pairs forthright comments on the practice of removing Inuit children to convent schools ("The nuns did not make very good mothers and the priests, who were called fathers, did not make very good fathers") with a dramatic story of a skating expedition that goes awry. Kusugak (previously paired with Krykora for My Arctic 1,2,3) writes with clarity and dry humor. The cool colors of the setting's northern exposure bleed through the borders of Krykorka's watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations, creating a soft and slightly dreamy effect, which, unfortunately, is to some degree undercut by the clunky typeface and heavy blocks of text facing the art. In spite of its awkward design, this picture book is a notable addition to the growing body of Inuit lore. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-These three stories about life in the Canadian Arctic in the 1950s feature Agatha, a six-year-old Inupiat Eskimo girl from Repulse Bay. The first vignette is based on an actual event that took place in 1958: a helium-filled airship flew over the bay frightening the inhabitants who didn't know what it was. The second tale chronicles Agatha's interaction with a raven that she considers "stupid" and "ugly." Ravens tend to stay behind during the winter but disappear when the other migrating birds appear in the spring and summer. As winter approaches once again, the girl learns to value the common bird. The third story involves the custom of many indigenous people of sending their children to larger communities to be educated. Agatha is taken to a Catholic mission school and the heartbreak of being separated from her family and the harsh treatment she experiences there will speak to readers. A glossary with a pronunciation guide for Inupiat terms is appended. While the ravens look more like crows, the illustrations, done in soft but vibrant watercolors and colored pencil, are generally quite good.
Mollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AK
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In three stories featuring a spirited 10-year-old growing up in a village on the northern tip of Hudson Bay, an Inuit storyteller elaborates on childhood memories: rather than join the general panic when a huge black thing (actually a U.S. Navy blimp) floats overhead, grumpy Agatha orders it to go away--which it does; another time, she regards the shabby raven that follows her grandmother around with disfavor, until she discovers that when all the other birds have left for the winter, the raven remains; and her bittersweet term at boarding school is capped by a heroic rescue when a priest recklessly skates onto thin ice. Kusugak tells his tales in a simple, direct way, adding flavor with offhand but well-chosen cultural detail and a sprinkle of Inuit (translated at the end), tying changing seasons to the annual arrival and departure of an array of local wildlife. In feathery full-page watercolors, Krykorka places her engagingly disheveled young heroine in a bumpy, treeless landscape beneath spectacularly colored skies, incorporating both hazy dream images and exactly detailed animals and clothing. Like the author's Baseball Bats for Christmas (1990), this combination of recognizable characters and exotic locale will transport young readers effortlessly. John Peters