How Things Came to Be: Inuit Stories of Creation

Publisher's Description (Inhabit Media): This completely revised and reedited edition, originally published as Qanuq Pinngurnirmata, shares eight classic Inuit creation stories from the Baffin region. These treasured tales have been revised to increase readability for young readers ages 6-8, while new material provides even more contextual information for these important creation myths. New illustrations accompany the new textual material. This edition is as accessible and enjoyable as it is informative. The perfect introduction to Arctic creation myths for children of all ages.

Author Biography (Strong Nations): Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley of Inuit-Scottish-Cree ancestry, Rachel A. Qitsualik-Tinsley was born and raised in the traditional Inuit culture of the late 1950's. After working for some time as a language specialist and consultant, she found success as a writer. Together with her husband, Sean A. Qitsualik-Tinsley, she has published many hundreds of articles on Inuit culture/folklore, much of which is used as educational content around the world. Together, they write fiction and educational works exploring the secretive world of Arctic shamanism. Rachel has also contributed to books, including Ring of Ice, Our Story, America is Indian Country, and Canada in 2020. Along with her husband, she has had the further pleasure of co-authoring Qanuq Pinngurnirmata: Vol. I, a book of Inuit myths expressed in modern narrative. Rachel is fond of hawks, dogs, and vanilla ice-cream (not necessarily in that order). Of Inuit ancestry, Rachel was born in a tent at the northernmost tip of Baffin Island. Raised as a boy, she learned survival lore form her father -- eventually surviving residential school. Rachel specializes in archaic dialects and balances personal shamanic experience with a university education. On the basis of numerous articles written concerning culture and language, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

Sean Qitsualik-Tinsely is a folklorist and fantasist of Scottish-Mohawk ancestry. His work specializes in mythology, magic, and Inuit lore. He has won an award for writing short science fiction "Green Angel," but his focus is on fiction and non-fiction for a young audience.

Emily Fiegenschuh attended art school at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL, and graduated with honours and a BFA from the Illustration program. She has illustrated numerous Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks for Wizards of the Coast, and has contributed cover and interior illustrations to the novel series Knights of the Silver Dragon. She illustrated the ten-part fantasy story “The Star Shard” by Frederic S. Durbin for Cricket Magazine. Her art has also appeared in the New York Times bestsellers A Practical Guide to Dragons, and A Practical Guide to Monsters. Emily lives with her husband in the Seattle area.

Born and raised in the Niagara Peninsula, Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall's childhood days were spent in the woodsy setting of Ontario's Bruce Trail. After graduating high school, Patricia Ann enrolled at Sheridan College to study Animation in the 1980s and later illustration. She worked for several years as storyboard artist for Nelvana. She has illustrated several books for children.

Resource type: Picturebook

Age recommendation: Grades K-3, 4-6

Keywords: Inuit creation stories, Baffin region, creation myths, Arctic, stories, storytelling, children, learning, tales, Inuit, day, night, thunder and lightning, sun, moon, caribou

Year of publication: 2019

Publisher information: Inhabit Media