The Most Amazing Bird
by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak (Author) Andrew Qappik (Illustrator)
A young girl discovers nature's surprising beauty in this tale from a renowned Inuk storyteller.
When Aggataa goes for a cold winter walk with her grandmother, she's surprised by a sudden CRAH! All the birds have flown south for the winter except one kind--the tulugarguat, the ravens. They're the ugliest birds that Aggaataa has ever seen. They look like they slept in their coats--coats that don't even fit! However, as the winter slowly moves towards spring, Aggataa connects with one small raven in particular.
As the seasons change in full, the ravens leave and are replaced by seagulls, cranes, geese, ducks, and swans--all of them far more elegant than the "Ugly Bird." But where Aggataa once thought the ravens odd for visiting during the harshest part of the year, she now finds herself watching the horizon, waiting for the return of the most amazing bird.
This touching story by award-winning author Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak reminds us of our lasting connection to nature, while art by celebrated illustrator Andrew Qappik, CM, illuminates the enduring magic of the changing seasons.
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Kirkus Reviews
Stunningly contemporary and amazingly timeless.
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School Library Journal
This story opens with the sounds of feet crunching into the snow, pulling readers into the wintry setting and giving the story immediacy. Aggataa, a little girl, sees a "tulugarjuaq" (a raven) and thinks that it is ugly. She asks her grandmother, who explains that she fed that bird one winter and now it returns annually. Aggataa comes to an uneasy peace with the bird, and its "Crah!" in response. The raven leaves as the snows give way to spring and other seasonal birds arrive for the warmer months. Again, the seasons shift, and the sandhills and seagulls fly south, leaving the landscape empty. Aggataa thinks it will be a lonely winter but is happy when her "ugly" raven returns. From a rotation of seasons, to the interactions between Aggataa and her grandmother, both Inuit and dressed traditionally, this beautiful tale provides gentle hints as to Inuk life in a sparsely poetic landscape. Delicate watercolors capture the play of the birds and the passing of seasons and complement the hushed storytelling. VERDICT Inuit storyteller Kusugak offers readers a window into the changing of seasons in a frozen landscape and how the wildlife and the humans change with it.-Ruth Guerrier-Pierre, New York P.L.
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
JUV009100 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Seasons
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
JUV030090 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Canada - Native Canadian
Seasons
