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Children's Fiction General

A Journey to the Mother of the Sea

by (author) Mâliâraq Vebæk

illustrated by Aka Høegh

read by Roselynn Akulukjuk & Louise Flaherty

Publisher
Inhabit Media
Initial publish date
Nov 2021
Category
General, General, Polar Regions, General
  • Downloadable audio file

    ISBN
    9781772274110
    Publish Date
    Nov 2021
    List Price
    $6.99

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 9 to 12
  • Grade: 4 to 8
  • Reading age: 9 to 12

Description

The sea animals have disappeared, and people are starving. An old couple, once great shamans, are asked to journey to the Mother of the Sea to find out what happened to the animals. But the journey is dangerous and the old woman does not know if she will be able to please the Mother of the Sea and convince her to free the animals the people of her community so desperately need.

The Mother of the Sea is an important character in Inuit traditional stories shared across the circumpolar region. Known by many names across various regions of the Arctic, the Mother of the Sea is a powerful woman who can withhold the animals humans need to survive if she is displeased by human behaviour. Only a shaman is able to appease the Mother of the Sea and convince her to release the animals that the hunters so desperately need. This tale shares the specific traditional story of the Mother of the Sea told and retold in Greenland for generations.

About the authors

Mâliâraq Vebæk was a Greenlandic teacher and writer who collected and published songs, legends, and folktales. She was known for being the first Greenlandic woman to publish a novel, which received the Greenlandic Authors Association Award in 1982.

Mâliâraq Vebæk's profile page

Aka Høegh is one of Greenland's most well-known artists. She has had exhibitions all across Europe, and her art adorns many public buildings in Greenland.

Aka Høegh's profile page

Roselynn Akulukjuk est née à Pangnirtung, au Nunavut, dans l’Arctique canadien. En 2012, Roselynn s’est installée à Toronto pour lancer sa carrière dans le cinéma. Étudiante à la Toronto Film School, elle s’est passionnée pour le travail qui se fait derrière la caméra. Après avoir terminé ses études et travaillé à Toronto, Roselynn est retournée au Nunavut, où elle a commencé à collaborer avec Taqqut Productions, une société de production télévisuelle et cinématographique appartenant à des Inuits basée à Iqaluit, la capitale du Nunavut. Un des aspects qu’elle aime le plus dans son métier de cinéaste, c’est de pouvoir passer des entrevues avec des aînés, écouter leurs récits traditionnels et les partager avec le reste du monde. En 2015, Roselynn a écrit et réalisé son premier film, le court métrage en prise de vue réelle et marionnettes Le hibou et le lemming, qui a inspiré ce livre. Le hibou et le lemming a été présenté à divers festivals de cinéma en 2016.

Roselynn Akulukjuk's profile page

Louise Flaherty grew up in Clyde River, Nunavut. Early on, Louise was fortunate to be surrounded by great storytellers. Her grandparents instilled in her a passion for Inuktitut, and an understanding that speaking Inuktitut is a fundamental part of Inuit identity. In 2005, Louise co-founded Inhabit Media Inc., an independent publishing house dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Inuit knowledge and values, and the Inuktitut language. Inhabit Media has since published dozens of books and Inuktitut resources that are used in classrooms throughout Nunavut.

Louise Flaherty's profile page

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