This book is SO beautiful. The art took my breath away. It really captures what's happening in the poem. I could see myself reading this again and again with my kids. So simple, yet so beautiful.

This poem translated from the original Danish is a beautiful and vivid reinterpretation of 'Magic Words' a poem previously told through the ancient oral tradition of the Inuits. Mike Blanc's striking illustrations are bold and colourful and truly lift the words of Edward Field off the page. I found myself rereading the poem several times in order to study the images to make sure I didn't miss the symbolism contained in each one, This is my first introduction to the poetry of the Inuits and I will certainly be searching out more.

I would recommend this for story time or for educators who are teaching the form of poetry and world literature in general.

What a beautifully illustrated story. The pictures were interesting, bringing me into the world of the Inuit. The words seemed calming and easy to read. The story moved along nicely. The only thing I could say, was I wish it was longer. Four stars for Magic Words.

Review published on April 21st, 2017

A truly, truly, gorgeous book that tells a truly, truly, simple story.

This book felt magical. The poetry was lyrical and dreamlike and the illustrations were wholly original and really quite beautiful. I read it and enjoyed it on my own, but I'm looking forward to reading it with my children as well and letting them see/experience the gorgeous artwork.

I wish the book was longer. Great pictures and an interesting story.

This picture book gives us a modern translation of an old Inuit Creation story that was translated and turned into a poem by poet Edward Field. The poem shows the intimate relationship that the Inuit have with their natural environment, and it shows, among other things, a world where humans and animals can share bodies and souls and where the real and the imaginary can mix together.

I would recommend this book not only because of the beautiful illustrations, but for the poem as well. The poem is lyrical and beautiful and paints an amazing picture of the Inuit culture. In a way I also found the poem to be magical and very peaceful, like a dreamy nighttime story. I would not only recommend this for children, who could find much joy from this book and could learn about another culture, but for the parents as well, who I think could find pleasure in the artwork and in the peaceful flow of the poem.

Simple concept: words have power. In this case, the ancient Inuits believed that words could turn people into animals and vice versa and make fish rain from the sky. From an early reader point of view, this was a somewhat difficult book to read. The typeset was very stylized, with most of the text printed in straight, left-to-right lines, but sometimes the lines ran in curves in and around the pictures. Also, the lower case Y and G were backward of how children are taught to write. The pictures were gorgeous, however, with an almost auroral feel to some of them. This book would be good for a study on native people and beliefs. The book would be a good springboard discussion of how people don't really turn into animals and fish don't really rain from the sky just because someone says the words would be in order. Children should also be lead to discuss how words do indeed have the power to hurt or to heal people's hearts.

I received this book as an eARC for free from the author, the publishers, and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was a beautiful book that children will love as well as the adults that may read it with them. This book would be perfect in school libraries and classrooms. I loved the artwork, and how vivid it is. The font is even interesting. Most important, the poem told is very sweet, and I think it is great for children culturally as well as fun to read.