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

After his snowmobile breaks down halfway across the sea ice on a trip back from a fishing camp, Serapio Ittusardjuat recounts the traditional skills and knowledge he leaned on to stay alive.

This harrowing first-person account of four nights spent on the open sea ice—with few supplies and no water—shows young readers the determination and strength necessary to survive in the harsh Arctic climate, even when the worst occurs.

Serapio Ittusardjuat was born in a qarmaq (sod house) at Akunniq (between Hall Beach and Igloolik, Nunavut) on February 1, 1945. He went to residential school in Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, and Fort Churchill, Manitoba. He has studied art, jewellery making, and metalwork at Ottawa School of Art and Nunavut Arctic College, and is a certified journeyman mechanic. Serapio comes from a long line of walrus hunters. He organizes walrus hunts from his summer camp every year. He also goes caribou hunting with family and friends. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife.

Serapio Ittusardjuat's profile page

Matthew K. Hoddy is an illustrator, comic book author, and animator hailing from Brisbane, Australia. Matt came to Toronto in 2014 on a working holiday and never left. His work ranges from material for children and young adults, all the way through to autobiographical and introspective works. He is co-creator of the Space Pyrates and Saga of Metalbeard comics.

Matthew K. Hoddy's profile page

• Nominated, Forest of Reading—Silver Birch Express Award
• Short-listed, Red Cedar Book Award for Non-Fiction
• Short-listed, First Nation Communities Read Awards

"A straightforward yet exciting story, and an ideal tale for fans of adventure.”—School Library Journal

"This beautifully designed, highly engaging graphic novel should engross both reluctant readers and those seeking adventure."—Quill & Quire

"This graphic novel is gripping, and I was drawn in almost immediately...This book speaks to not only the importance of self-sufficiency, but also traditional lifestyle knowledge; something that was often stamped out by colonizers with residential schooling and legislation pointedly destroying cultural knowledge."—The Tiny Activists

"The engaging design, and a well-told survival story are sure to garner attention with readers who enjoy true tales of adventure and survival."—Sal's Fiction Addiction