Hide and Sneak

by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak, Vladyana Krykora (Illustrator)

Inuit author Michael Kusugak ("A Promise Is A Promise", "Baseball Bats For Christmas") again demonstrates he is a masterful writer. A mythological figure and traditional Inuit practices set the backdrop for this dramatic story. During hide-and-seek, Allashua encouters an Ijiraq: a tiny half-bird, half-human creature who loves to play.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Indigenous, Canada

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak is a storyteller and a Canadian children's writer, who tells stories about Arctic and Inuit culture. He was born April 27, 1948 just north of Chesterfield Inlet, at a point of land we call Qatiktalik. That same spring of 1948 he and his family moved to Repulse Bay and in 1960 to Rankin Inlet


Inuktitut: ᐊᕐᕚᕐᓗᒃ ᑯᓱᒐᖅ

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Young Allashua is bad at hide-and-seek -- she keeps getting distracted. We never actually see any of the other kids find her, adding to the impression of her being in her own world.

As her mother warned, of course, an Ijiraq finds her. The tension builds from there, and while pieces of the story were familiar to me (and part of it had been telegraphed), I didn't actually have the feeling of "I know what's going to happen" for all the details.

There's also some Inuktitut text at the bottom of each illustration frame, which I definitely can't translate but which I was intrigued by.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vladyana Krykorka's illustrations in this book are stunningly gorgeous.
Allashua is not very good at hiding. She loves to play hide and seek, but ends up getting distracted by butterflies, flowers, fish in ponds and all kinds of delights around her in her northern world.
Unfortunately, Ijiraq's are very good hiders. If they help a child hide, the child is never heard from again. Allashua can't believe the stories when she meets a cheerful Ijiraq and finds herself in serious trouble.
Luckily, Allashua is very smart and manages to save herself!

[Jenna (Falling Letters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received this book as a gift (I think my dad got a copy from the author) when I was child.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are finishing up the month with books about the Arctic (and black history).

[C. (Don't blank click my reviews, comment please! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I encountered “A Promise Is A Promise” and “Hide And Sneak”, 1992 at a garage sale. I was so pleased to find this bright literature, I wished the rest by Michael Kusugak & Vladyana Krykorka were there. I’m elated to find non-hunting stories that show me Inuit homes, gorgeous terrain, and better still.... their mysticism! The Qallupilluit and Ijiraq are new to me and I enjoyed every gorgeous page of these family stories. My sole criticism depends on whether Allashua’s appearances are a series, or the same character on different journeys. There is one sibling fewer and a tent instead of a house. Perhaps they go elsewhere in summer.

If these adventures comprise a series, I don’t see the child doubting her Mother’s council and getting ensnared by a legend again! Due to repeating the blueprint of disobedience precipitating trouble and entailing little more than a girl temporarily lost, I hovered at three-star feedback. But Vladyana outdid herself. If I thought her drawings beautiful and dreamy before, these vibrant summer landscapes are masterpieces! Every detail of flowers, broad sky, bright meadow, facial expression, and inward sense of colour are the most exquisite work I have ever seen.

A return to the same theme, less dangerous and sinister this time, does not diminish its emotional contents. Allashua wished she were better at some games she plays with friends. It’s a message innumerable adults can use, that participation should feel sublime whether activities are mastered or not. The relief of finding your own way home is palpable and again, we rejoin her calm, warm parents. I admire them wholeheartedly! They don’t shout. They embrace her with gladness. I see ‘Inukshuks’ all over Manitoba and loved hearing about them. I will watch for books by this pair because I consider them a treasure.