• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 3 to 7

An enchanting and utterly authentic introduction to the life of an Inuit child and her world.

Written and illustrated by Ningiukulu Teevee, one of the most interesting young artists in Cape Dorset, home to the great tradition of Inuit art, this is a beautifully simple story, written in Inuktitut and English, about a young Inuit girl who goes to the shore with her grandmother to collect clams for supper. Along the way she discovers tide pools brimming with life – a bright orange starfish, a creepy-crawly thing with many legs called an ugjunnaq, a hornshaped sea snail and a sculpin. This is an enchanting and utterly authentic introduction to the life of an Inuit child and her world.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

NINGIUKULU TEEVEE, an exceptionally gifted artist, is one of the major contributors to the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection, which is distributed to art galleries across North America. Much of her art draws on the Inuit stories and legends that she heard as a child, although this book recalls her childhood experiences of digging for clams with her grandmother. She lives with her family in Kinnigait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut.

Ningiukulu Teevee's profile page

• Commended, Resource Link's Year's Best
• Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Books
• Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Award: Illustration

...[The] English translation [of the Inuktitut] is sprinkled with musical words from the original...a harmonious universally recognizable shared time between a child and her affectionate grandparents.

Kirkus Reviews

The drawings by the author are delightfully expressive...

Multicultural Review

Graphite and color pencil illustrations lend an innocence and simplicity to this unique tale.

School Library Journal

Complementary in both forms of language, and accompanied by exquisite drawings, this book introduces the Canadian north and Inuit culture through a reading experience that will bridge to more conversation and understanding of places and cultures that seem far away.

Resource Links

Alego

A little girl goes to the beach with her grandmother to dig clams. As she walks along, looking for the clams, she discovers other sea life left behind by the low tide. Originally written in Inuktitut syllabics, the translation maintains many of the original Inuktitut words. Each deceptively simple illustration captures the innocent excitement of a small child, as well as giving readers a glimpse of aspects of traditional Inuit lifestyle. The glossary includes beautiful illustrations of the sea creatures Alego gathers in her bucket. Also included is a map of Baffin Island.

Teevee lives in Cape Dorset, (Kinngait) Nunuvat with her family where she works for the municipal government. Her artwork is devoted to bringing the oral stories of her people into graphic form. Alego is based on her own childhood experience.

Alego

Meet Alego, a young Inuit girl who lives in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Alego loves to visit her grandmother, and one day a surprise awaits her. “It is almost low tide, and we are going clam digging,” announces the elder. Alego is very excited because of this fresh experience awaiting her. While exploring the seashore, she discovers clams in the sandy shore, sculpins in the seaweed, starfish on rocks and numerous shells and tiny sea creatures hidden in tide pools. Grandmother and Alego set off for home before the tide returns, to enjoy a feast of clams and hot tea with Grandfather.

This story is simple, but its message is far-reaching. We witness an elder sharing an Inuit tradition with her granddaughter. Through this young girl, we experience a way of life in a small community where most of us have never been. Alego is, in fact, the autobiographical story of this book’s author-illustrator, Ningeokuluk Teevee, a noted Cape Dorset artist whose focus is bringing Inuit stories and legends back to life. There is much to observe in her graphite and coloured pencil illustrations. In their naturalness, there is a powerful sense of place and history. What contributes greatly to this book’s authenticity is that Alego is written in both Inuktitut and English. An illustrated glossary of sea creatures, as well as a pictorial map of Baffin Island are also included.

Alego is a noteable contribution to Canadian children’s literature. Canada is a big country and here one is given the opportunity to learn about the life and environs of a modern-day Inuit child. This is a book which can be read and appreciated from coast to coast to coast. Qujannamiik (thank you), Ningeokuluk Teevee!