Fast read. I really liked the illustrations. I personally enjoy myths and stories from around the world so it was interesting to read this one.

The illustrations in this book are breathtaking, and really helped to make the story engaging. I would use this book in my grade 7/8 classroom in talking about folk tales and also as an example of beautiful picture book illustration.

Engaging pictures move this story along. I would use it as part of a unit on Native Americans. It would be interesting to compare and contrast Fish-Boy with other folktales.

Beautifully illustrated Innuit folktale tells of a man you adopts an armless fish boy. The illustrations elevate the story off the pages.

4 helms

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Cute little Inuit story by Vanita Oelschlager. Never really heard of this author but thought it would be interesting to request the book on NetGalley. Glad I did as I discovered a new author and Vanita Books (Vanita’s publishing house) donates 100% of its proceeds to The Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis which is such a generous and worthy cause!

Fish-Boy is a children’s book, told in a style of an Inuit folklore tale (unsure if this folk tale is a real one or not?) which brings up themes of friendship, kindness and hospitality. Great as a bedtime story for the kids or as a great teaching tool for teachers. A nice storyline with important and strong morals and values. There are discussion points towards the end of the book too which are great as reminders to discuss the story with the kids. Beautiful illustrations with bold and striking colours which are easy on the eyes and a pleasure to look at. Lovely hand drawn maps of the Diomedes Islands and St. Lawrence Island is also included to showcase the land of the Inuits.

Having travelled to Finnish Lapland earlier on this year, my husband and I got a chance to learn a little about the Sami people (indigenous Finno-Ugric people) and their culture. We were also lucky enough to catch Arctic Odyssey at the Finland National Theatre, a combination of cross-border artists from different parts of the Arctic region who banded together to reflect and share their experiences and memories. A combination of Inuit masked dance, Arctic songs, modern Sami poetry and Chukchi myths brought awareness of such fragile cultures to the interest of adults.

Luckily for the kids they don’t have to wait long to be educated about the Inuits, as Vanita brings a part of the Arctic north into your children’s world through this story raising awareness of the Inuit people and their folklore combined with important strong themes to make this book a must-have in your children’s library.

*Thank-you Vanita Oelschlager, Netgalley & Vanita Books for the ARC.

This is a folklore about a fish boy. I have not read many folklore and I did find some of this to be confusing; maybe because I do not understand the history behind the story. I am not sure what age range this is marketed for, but it was listed in the children's section. There were parts that were written really well and I enjoyed them, but other parts that felt too wordy.

The artwork was so beautiful.

The illustrations in this story are absolutely unreal! My little guy and I loved all the colorful pages and beautiful illustrations. The story itself was lovely, perfect for early school age children. I LOVED the definitions at the end. We read it through multiple times after reading the glossary and held an even greater appreciation for it's depth. A gorgeous peek into Inuit culture and storytelling.

I beautifully illustrated Inuit folk tale. The inclusion of a glossary and teaching topics at the end Make it a great teaching tool! Would be an asset to any school library or addition to core teaching resources.

This story is long but interesting. I think it would make a better vocal tale than it does a book, but the illustrator did an amazing job. There are lots of unfamiliar words, but there is a section in the back explaining them all. While just on story, it’s not my favorite, it is a great way to learn about another culture.

I can’t wait for this book to print! I don’t care that I will be buying it new, and in hardback, but this baby is going into my school library collection as soon as possible because it is so dang good. It might seem a little text heavy to those who are used to picture books, but when it comes to folktales, the text embodies oral traditions while the illustrations spark the imagination and set the tone. I am absolutely in love with the story within a story, and also how Fish-Boy explores not only the origin of the ‘sea-parrots’ but also the origin of Fish-Boy’s family.

True to Oelschlager’s roots, Fish-Boy reflects themes surrounding growing up, conflict resolution, the treatment of others, difference, and adoptive families. The orality of the book makes it perfect for reading out loud, and as such, also serves as a wonderful medium through which to start these conversations with children either one-on-one or in a group setting. It is so hard to do oral stories justice in writing, and this Oelschlager’s retelling breathes in life, details, and action that are too often lost as folktales are translated to the page. This book is incredible and that the value of it’s lessons should not be overlooked. I was caught up in it’s magic, and I am sure that I will read it many, many more times in the years to come.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! And as an added bonus it aligns with our elementary school curriculum in many Canadian provinces. Not only is it a beautifully written and illustrated book, but it would make an excellent teaching/ library resource as well. Whether you are buying this book for your family, your library, or your school – you won’t be disappointed.

Fish-Boy is an Inuit folk tale told by Vanita Oelschlager. It's a wonderful book in which the story of Fish-Boy is told to a young child by Teragloona, a wise old Inuit man. Fish-Boy is the origin story that explains why there are so many sea-parrots (Atlantic puffins) on the stony islands of the far north. This is a story of fathers and sons, kindness and rejection, hospitality to guests, friendship and some magic.

I loved the story and found the glossary very helpful and well written. The illustrations by Mike Blanc are what initially grabbed my interest in this book and are absolutely brilliant. I loved the people, the backgrounds, the use of colour, and the way they immerse you in the story.

I adore the tradition of teaching origin stories to each generation by the elders in so many Indigenous cultures. I've had a huge interest in learning about Indigenous cultures, their traditions and stories since I was a child. I had a computer program called 500 Nations with audio by Kevin Costner and I'd lose all concept of time as I explored the richness of cultures I knew nothing about. This book has really whet my appetite again and I want to learn more about the culture of the Inuit people.

I received an ARC from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Vanita Books for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. I hope to see more books retelling other Inuit folk tales by Vanita and Mike.

What wonderful illustrations, they really pulled you in to this Inuit Folk tale. The culture and how small minded people can be no matter where. A great lesson to be learned of respect, Thank you netgalley for this reading opportunity.

This book is a new folk tale for me and was thoroughly enjoyable. It tells how sea parrots came to be. The illustrations are very well done and add so much to the story.

I've loved all of Vanita's books that I've seen so far, but this one didn't do much for me. The story is very long and 'wordy', and it is very difficult to ascertain the target age group for such a book. Telling the story of the Inuit people of North America and a story passed down from generation to generation, it is certainly interesting, but quite a taxing read for children. Even being read to by an adult, I imagine this is quite heavy going. I also found the text to be unnecessary small.

An excellent and engaging picture book that teaches an important lesson of hospitality.

This is a wonderful Inuit tale with the main character, me, telling how he or she learned the story of how the Sea parrots (puffins) came to be.

Very easy to read and understand, as the main character hears the story from the elder, and learns about their origin.

I bring up that it is easy to understand, because to the Western, European ear, many Indiginous peoples' myths sound odd, and confusing. We are used to the homogenized Greek and Roman myths, that all make "sense" to us, and are logical, and why can't all myths make sense like that. Heck, if everyone though that same, think how dull things would be.

I bring up that this book is easy to understand and totally accessible, because the first time I read a Inuit myth, when I was a mere child, I got every confused. It is the myth of Sedna, the goddess of sea animals, who grew the sea creatures felon her cut off fingers. To me, at the time,t hat made no sense. To me, as an adult, it makes about as much sense as any other myth.

So, with the delightful pictures, and the delightful story, I hope we get more Inuit tales, just as good as this one.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This book is based on a First Nations' story that takes place in the Arctic. There are colourful, beautiful illustrations and it definitely reads like a spoken story. There is beautiful imagery in sentences such as: 'Finally the fog lifted and I saw it all as one sees after waking from a dream.'

The book is about a young boy who learns of a legend on where the puffins came from while on a journey to the island of a great hunter.

I appreciated the 'new words' section in the back and would have liked to see a list of character names and island names with pronunciations included to help with the telling of the story. I appreciated the illustrator using realistic facial features and skin tones that are similar to the people of the story being told.

This would be a great resource for a teacher to use and for students to enjoy, however, the language would be a challenge for the students to read this book independently.

As someone who lives in Nunavut I very much enjoy stories of the Inuit culture. This is a lovely story of the Fish-Boy, his father Kitmesuk and the people they visit. The illustration are beautiful and colourful. They add so much to the story. I appreciated the glossary at the end as well.

Fish-Boy, An Inuit Folk Tale as told by Vanita Oelschlager. Art by Mike Blanc. Vanita Books.
An Inuit folk tale about the fish-boy who comes from the water and has no arms but convinces a fisherman to adopt him, then helps bring a wealth of fish to him and his village. Accepting an invitation to another island, Fish-boy magically defeats an opponent who unfairly challenges him and leaves these unfriendly, inhospitable and unkind people to their strange, but deserving, fate. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and Vanita Books for providing this ebook for review.