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James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends
Drawn from the author's journey to the Canadian Arctic in 1946, this visually stunning volume collects four Inuit folktales that capture the beautiful landscape of the Arctic and the fascinating culture of its people. Simultaneous.
- GenresMythology
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 3, 2016
This book is one of those gems that you don't even want to dog-ear the pages - for fear of ruining it. It was simply beautiful! The four unforgettable stories are written with a quiet respect for those living in the most harsh of environments - the white, frozen desert of the north. James Houston was actually born in Toronto - but lived up north in the 1950's (after WWII) learning from the Inuit and spending time sketching the people & landscape. He then set out to tell the rest of the world about the Inuit's way of life and to share their stories and artwork.
So much wisdom is packed in these simple tales. They cover subjects of survival and starvation, hard work and strong family bonds, travel and adventure. The stories beg to be read out loud - and James Houston's illustrations would make this an excellent bridge for those too old for children's books and too young for novels. I hope teachers & parents look at this book to share with their kids! Just remember to remind them that the Inuit USED to live in snow-houses - that's all history now! Those from Nunavut are likely reading my review on a more expensive computer... :/
So much wisdom is packed in these simple tales. They cover subjects of survival and starvation, hard work and strong family bonds, travel and adventure. The stories beg to be read out loud - and James Houston's illustrations would make this an excellent bridge for those too old for children's books and too young for novels. I hope teachers & parents look at this book to share with their kids! Just remember to remind them that the Inuit USED to live in snow-houses - that's all history now! Those from Nunavut are likely reading my review on a more expensive computer... :/
July 30, 2020
Not what I envisioned,but that's my fault partly because I didn't realize the big difference between Legends and Folktales when I picked this up.
I was excited for Inuit goddesses,snow spirits and strange beings, magical northern lights and strange powers, talking animals,etc. Not in this book.
So what was it? Well, the title says it's a treasury,so I'm assuming at least 10 stories minimum, you get 4. All 4 are essentially identical, snow,ice,freezing water, hunting and killing animals, getting lost and snowblind, building a shelter,sled dogs and that's it, basically cold struggles to survive.
A legend is something based supposedly on fact that got enhanced, so that's why these tales all sounded to me like everyday life in the Arctic,which just wasn't what I wanted. All the hunting didn't help, though I understand they have No choice there, especially way back then,but it's still sad.
The writing was certainly nice and vivid enough and there's illustrations on every other page. If you want a feel for Inuit life in the nitty gritty and the hardships of their life in ancient times, you may well enjoy this book. It was interesting,but not magical,which was further disappointing as the Introduction mentions several beings of Inuit folklore, but we never get any in the legends here.
I was excited for Inuit goddesses,snow spirits and strange beings, magical northern lights and strange powers, talking animals,etc. Not in this book.
So what was it? Well, the title says it's a treasury,so I'm assuming at least 10 stories minimum, you get 4. All 4 are essentially identical, snow,ice,freezing water, hunting and killing animals, getting lost and snowblind, building a shelter,sled dogs and that's it, basically cold struggles to survive.
A legend is something based supposedly on fact that got enhanced, so that's why these tales all sounded to me like everyday life in the Arctic,which just wasn't what I wanted. All the hunting didn't help, though I understand they have No choice there, especially way back then,but it's still sad.
The writing was certainly nice and vivid enough and there's illustrations on every other page. If you want a feel for Inuit life in the nitty gritty and the hardships of their life in ancient times, you may well enjoy this book. It was interesting,but not magical,which was further disappointing as the Introduction mentions several beings of Inuit folklore, but we never get any in the legends here.
January 25, 2016
I enjoyed reading these legends from another culture.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews