Review by Nisha Patel
Tundra Books, April 2025
32 pages, Hardcover, $23.99, 9781774880579
Picture Book, ages 4 – 8
Fiction, Indigenous Literature
The rabbits’ fur changes color from white in the winter to a pretty brown in the summer. The summer is a time of warmth and fattening. The flowers are plenty and their buds are scrumptious.
One then says to the other, “It also makes me happy to shield you from the wind in the winter, when our fur is thick and we are not fat and the flowers are not so plenty.”
“I would give you my tail if I could,” says the other rabbit, and they snuggle into the Arctic poppies with wiggling noses and wiggling tails.
Tanya Tagaq’s lyrical story features young Kalluk’s journey to bring his grandmother back to camp. His mother is in labour and as he sets out he encounters some of the life that surrounds him, asking them one by one why they are so happy. In their answer, he is reminded of the rabbit stew he eats for dinner and feels gratitude, and these feelings expand as he journeys on. When he reaches his grandmother his journey of walking shifts, too, to accommodate her needs. In this he also reminds himself of gratitude to those who came before him.
The artistic imagery is straightforward but expressive in how natural tones bring to life some of the more fantastical encounters. Manumie’s ability to capture movement in the rabbits, brook, and other settings is subtle and thoughtful; readers will find their precision and care has brought out a true joy and appreciation for the world being depicted.
There is pressure that Kalluk navigates as he walks with grandmother. This acts as a reflection point for readers who might feel the same desire as he does to meet his new sibling, but who may also find their own role in the process limited. As such, this book is a wonderful introduction to understanding our relationship with the non-human life around us and learning how our relationships affect our place in the world. It is ideal for young readers who are starting to recognize that there is a necessity for them, in their curiosities, to also connect to their surroundings and express gratitude. While life and happiness might be defined differently for every reader, this story encourages observation and patience, and will inspire readers to reflect on their own connections to life, food, time, and care.
Fans of Richard Wagamese’s The Animal People Choose a Leader might particularly enjoy the conversational animals and life on Kalluk’s journey, inviting them into a world of play and imagination.
Nisha Patel is a Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Edmonton and a Canadian Poetry Slam Champion. A queer and disabled artist, Nisha focuses on poetry, children’s literatures, and comics. Her sophomore collection of poetry, A Fate Worse Than Death, engages in the quality of life and treatment of patients surrounding disability, and is out now with Arsenal Pulp Press. You can find her at nishapatel.ca
YOUNG ADULTING 