Tuktuk - a tale from the Tundra

Tuktuk Tundra Tale
by Robin Currie; illus. by Phyllis Saroff
32 pages; ages 4-8
Arbordale, 2016

theme: nonfiction, animal tale

At the  top of the world, an Inuit driver cried to the sled dogs. "Hike!"
"Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!"
He saw the setting sun on the ice, but he did not see one furry kamik slip under the ropes and off the sled.

But Tuktuk did, and he thought the kamik was just perfect for a collard lemming. As he drags the boot home he is stopped by other animals who think that they should have the kamik.

What I like about the book: Instead of arguing with other animals, Tuktuk becomes the trickster. Yes, the kamik is a perfect fit on the polar bear's nose, or the arctic fox's tail... even the moose. But the fit is less than perfect.

I also like the back matter: information about polar seasons, a matching game, some Inuit vocabulary, and "fun facts" about life in the cold (more fun when you've got a sweater on and a hot mug of cocoa).

Beyond the Book:

Watch a slideshow of Arctic tundra animals.

Discover some sneaky facts about collard lemmings and other lemmings here.

Learn how to say "good morning" and more in Inukitut here.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy provided by publishers.