The Inuit

Children's Literature - Patrick Hunter

Excellent information about North America's most northern living people that goes beyond Eskimo kissing and Igloos. Part of the "A True Book" series, readers start out with two true or false questions: 1) The Inuit eat Raw Meat 2) The Inuit have exactly five different words for snow. Jumping right into the material with a goal of discovering if these statements are true or false is an inventive way to capture readers' attention right from the start by giving them something to strive for rather than just digesting the material. The contents are set up much the same way as other standard texts that cover native peoples or cultures. We are first given an early history of the Inuit people. Discussion in this section is centered around providing a location with map of where the Inuit live in Northern North America and Greenland, and history of the Thule culture that preceded the Inuit on the Alaskan coast. These pages are a mini-study in another culture with focus on their homes, migrating patterns and meetings of European peoples. After this bit of historical background, we are given information about Inuit survival: clothing, shelter and food in such a harsh climate. This section has delightful little tidbits such as the need to create snow goggles to keep out the harsh sunlight bouncing off the arctic landscape. Travel comes next. Anyone who thinks "northern peoples" will be somewhat familiar with travel by dogsled, but will find the way Inuits mark their land with large rock formations for directions fascinating. Inuit Society is discussed in the last of the chapters which examines Inuit family structure, marriage, culture and taboos. Inuits did not have government. The concepts of right and wrong were intrinsically understood and reinforced by teachings from the elders. All of the information is supplemented with colorful photographs that have equally colorful and eye catching captions that include larger than normal font and directional arrows. Contained at the back is a glossary of terms which are highlighted throughout the text and additional resources. This is the least sexist and savage-tinged collaboration of Cunningham and Benoit. I was quite pleased with text and found myself with a sad longing that their other collaborations couldn't have been as objective. The information contained is well laid out, informative and may be worth the price. I would suggest looking at a copy if you can get your hands on one before determining if you wanted purchase for your curriculum. Reviewer: Patrick Hunter