I Would Give You My Tail
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- USD 10.99
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- USD 10.99
Descripción editorial
FOUR STARRED REVIEWS! • A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2025! • Beautifully illustrated with a cloth-like spine, this imaginative picture book shares an Inuk child's experience with gratitude and celebrates family connections from the newest siblings to cherished Elders.
A young boy, Kalluk, leaves his camp to tell his grandmother that his mother is about to have a baby. Along the way, Kalluk meets different animals and he asks them why they are so happy. The rabbits say they love to be fast enough to outrun the fox and clever enough to know when to hide. They are happy to protect each other from the winter wind: "I'd give you my tail if I could!" they say. A mother fox tells the boy her pups make her happy (and her pups say their mother makes them happy: "We would give her our tails if we could!" they say. Even the river and the wind have reasons to be happy. Kalluk's encounters with nature make him reflect on his gratitude for all it provides.
On the trip back, Kalluk and his grandmother talk about happiness, peace and choices. They speak to the ravens and get a lift from the wind right to Kalluk's doorstep. And waiting inside is a new baby sister! Holding her in his arms, Kalluk discovers a new reason to be thankful.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this gently reflective picture book, an Inuk boy journeys to his grandmother's home to inform her of his mother's impending labor, en route asking various creatures "why they are so happy." As young Kalluk travels, he encounters two munching rabbits, who respond that "they love to be fast and love to be clever." One speaks too of the happiness brought about by shielding the other from the winter wind; the second replies, "I would give you my tail if I could." Asking the same question of a laughing brook, a skulk of playing foxes, and more, Kalluk moves on from each interaction feeling thankful—for his food, represented by memories of rabbit stew; for fresh water, represented by the brook. In layered prose, Inuk author Tagaq (It Bears Repeating) subtly models themes of interconnection and thanking the natural world for gifts received. Spare, fine-lined illustrations from Manumie, making his picture book debut, retain colored pencil textures as the child makes his way home and, in a stirring moment smartly rendered, begins to pass the lessons he's learned on to his new sibling: "I would give you my tail if I could." Includes an Inuktitut translation and pronunciation guide. Ages 3–7.
