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

The northern lights shine, women gather to eat raw caribou meat and everyone could be family in this ode to small-town life in Nunavut, written in English and Inuktitut.

Sisters Angnakuluk Friesen and Ippiksaut Friesen collaborate on this story about what it’s like to grow up in an Inuit community in Nunavut. Every line about the hometown in this book will have readers thinking about what makes their own hometowns unique. With strong social studies curriculum connections, Kisimi Taimaippaktut Angirrarijarani / Only in My Hometown introduces young readers to life in the Canadian North, as well as the Inuit language and culture.

Angnakuluk’s simple text, translated into Inuktitut and written out in syllabics and transliterated roman characters, is complemented by Ippiksaut’s warm paintings of their shared hometown.

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

ANGNAKULUK FRIESEN grew up in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, where she volunteers for the local fire department and does contract work. She spends time at the cabin with her family at the river and enjoys sewing winter clothing for loved ones. Angnakuluk lives with her husband in Rankin Inlet. This is her first book.

Angnakuluk Friesen's profile page

IPPIKSAUT FRIESEN is an Inuk from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. She studied drawing and ceramics at the Matchbox Gallery located in Rankin Inlet. She's a graduate of Emily Carr University where she received her bachelor's degree in media arts, majoring in animation. Her mixed-media art focuses on Inuit community through animation or illustration. She lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Ippiksaut Friesen's profile page

JEAN KUSUGAK is an interpreter and translator in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.

Jean Kusugak's profile page

The sister collaborators work in harmony. … Heartwarming and illuminating.

Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

Bright acrylic-and-watercolor illustrations complement the richness of the lyrical text.

International Literacy Association

… the book pushes at the boundaries of literary conventions in both form and content, providing a much-needed mirror for readers within the culture, and an astonishing window for those outside. A lovely testament to community and cultural diversity.

Booklist

The exquisite paintings are full of colour and detail, and they beautifully depict the environment, time of day, and season of each setting. ... Ippiksaut Friesen captures the essence and beauty of growing up in a small town in the North.

Canadian Review of Materials

It is a book to share with children who need to see themselves in the book or learn about others. In other words, it's a book for all.

CanLit for Little Canadians