New year, new book-buying budget. Or maybe that’s just me.
I know some of you out there, especially the teachers, are waving Book Cellar gift certificates around like cash, so there are two particularly special additions to the ever-thriving collection of Northern picture books that I want to tell you about. Freddie the Flyer and You Come from the Stars are two children’s books that follow creative young boys as they learn more about the world around them.
At its core, Freddie the Flyer is about the power of imagination and having a dream bigger than anything those around you think is possible to accomplish. You Come from the Stars is similarly thoughtful in its dedication to describing the transcendent love between each generation in a family.
Freddie the Flyer, written by Fred Carmichael and Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail with beautiful illustrations by Audrea Loreen-Wulf, is about Carmichael’s own life. At age 88, Carmichael reflects on growing up in Aklavik, learning to fly planes and becoming the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. Loreen-Wulf’s sweeping depictions of the Northern landscapes and people perfectly accompanies Carmichael’s larger-than-life accomplishments. Along with the pilot’s own experiences, this picture book includes the work of language instructors and knowledge keepers to enrich Carmichael’s story. Starting in January with a story about “Freddie” for each month of the year, with dates provided in English, Gwich’in, and Inuvialuktun, this book is the perfect read for the new year.
You Come from the Stars by local author and musician Tanya Snow crafts a story about an energetic child who asks his mother where babies come from. Transforming a moment bordering on awkward or funny into a soul-churning exploration of motherhood and Inuit culture, the mother gives a deceptively simple answer… babies come from love. Snow’s depiction of children — full of energy and hope and questions and even more energy — is spot on, adding an element of delight and whimsy to this story. Another beautiful tale in the growing collection of books published by Inhabit Media, an Inuit-owned publishing house based in Nunavut, Yong Ling Kang’s illustrations accompany this story and depict Northern communities and landscapes with accuracy and compassion.
Each offering their own unique perspective on boyhood in the North, these gorgeous books contain deep currents of feeling while keeping their themes and language simple enough to make them fantastic read-along books for classrooms or bedtime.