The Raven and the Loon by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley (review)

A long time ago, Raven and Loon both had coats white as snow. Raven finds that pretty boring, so the obstreperous corvid bursts into Loon’s iglu with an idea: they could create more interesting coats for each other. Raven uses his magic and soot to paint an elaborate pattern on Loon’s back, and he’s so pleased with his own work that he won’t sit still when Loon tries to return the favor, leading her to dump soot all over him in frustration; he retaliates by upsetting her stone lamp, smashing her feet flat. This Inuit pourquoi tale is told with a pleasing brusqueness and breezy sense of humor that make for a lively readaloud. The angular hatch-worked illustrations use a super-cool palette to evoke the starkness of the Arctic setting, while compositions play intriguingly with perspective for a lighthearted, zig-zaggy feel. Details like floating eyebrows and beaky grins and grimaces are surprisingly effective at capturing emotion. Though a source note is not included, this would pair well with Sarad’s First Spring (BCCB 5/06) for an Inuit-framed exploration of how things came to be.