I really enjoyed the artwork and thought the text was lovely. Although I think the book could be improved by having some own voice input, maybe an intro or more context, something like that. I think it is a great book, especially for kids.

Sparse, yet beautiful, this picture book tells the story of a time when words were magic. Just by stating something, it would come to be. The illustrations are lovely, and the one of the animals in the boat is frame-worthy. This would be a good choice to diversify your children's collection.

The illustrations were my favourite part of this book. I could tell they were done with such care and love. The colours also really brought everything together as a reading experience. The poem was filled with wisdom and the understanding of nature that I wish we all still had as humans.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the advanced copy!

The illustrations were just breathtaking. They are so beautiful to look at that I couldn't help going over the pages several time. On the other hand, the folk tale was good but ended very abruptly. I don't like incomplete endings or feeling like I'm missing out something. It irked me and kind of ruined the vibes. Nonetheless, it was worth the read.,

Wow! The illustrations are fantastic! The text is simple enough for youngsters to understand and gives way to great discussions in a group setting. This book sparks the imagination for all sorts of art activities. Well done!

The ending is quite abrupt and I would have preferred if this was an Innuit author's own voice or story since I do not trust people from outside of a culture to do them justice. Loved the illustrations though!

This book was very short and ended very abruptly. There wasn't much of a story to it. I did like the illustrations though. I don't know if my 3.5. year old would enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It was simple yet explained things well. I only wish it was a bit longer and gave examples of the magic words or some of the consequences these words could have. It left a lot to the imagination which is all in well but a few more details would have been nice. It had me definitely wanting more and then it ended….ugh.

The pictures that went with the book were amazing and I loved all the bright colors.

Overall, I would read more by this author.

while this children's book is quite short it sure packs a punch! this has to be the most beautifully illustrated children's book i have ever read. the illustrations perfectly matched the story being told, and the bold colours highlighted the power of its message. i thoroughly enjoyed this and recommend for all ages.

I only wish this book was longer! Beautiful illustrations and books like this that talk about a group of people's history and culture are so important!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Magic Words by Edward Field is an amazing children's book that retells a traditional Inuit creation story with gorgeous artwork. The story revolves around ancient times, when humans could become animals, and animals could become humans, when everyone spoke the same language. According to the description, "it captures beautifully the intimate relationship this Arctic people have with their natural world."

Overall, Magic Words is a beautiful children's book that will appeal to anyone looking to learn more about another culture, and Inuit culture in particular. One highlight of this book is the drop-dead gorgeous artwork. The colors are amazing, and the art style is inspired by traditional Inuit art. The only complaint that I have is that the book felt very short, and I wish it were longer. If you're intrigued by the description, I highly recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!

This is a beautiful children's picture book rendition of an Intuit story. The art work is stunning, the tale is magical while being simple enough to read with a child. I really can't say enough good things about this one. It sparks the imagination and fosters creativity. Highly engaging for parent and child. My only disappointment is that it ended too quickly and I only had the digital version to read. I have no doubt this is so much more stunning as a physical copy. I also would love some more intuit tales. This felt a little bit like an introduction to intuit folklore to me. I want more. My two year old wants more.

I strongly recommend this. Five stars.

I received an arc digital copy but my opinions are my own.

The illustrations of this book are beautiful. The text is a translation of an Inuit poem; The ideas are expansive and invite one to join in wonder; however, the text comes to such an abrupt end and one is left with confusion.

When reading a book, whether it be for children or adults, I think it is important to understand that questioning the authenticity of stories is good. This is a case wherein the genuine sentiment & sincerity of the work does not carry-out within the book as neither Field nor Blanc are Inuit & though their source material (Danish expedition notes) might have come from a person who worked alongside the Inuit in 1921, to transcribe some of their oral traditions...I very much doubt this to be the case.

This is certainly not the first book in the history of the world which has an author at the stern, steering the plot through a culture which is not their own. I suspect it is safe to predict, it shall not be the last.

The illustrations by Blanc are beautiful, that is not up for debate. However, they are from the perspective of an outsider of the culture, of the reality of the Inuit, therefore they do not hold weight in terms of accurately representing what a first person point of view would be as an Inuit describing the power of 'magic words'. As an artist I am certain that Blanc has grown his portfolio from his keen observations & developed his skills to represent a number of perspectives. Having scrolled through his website, I can confidently assume that to be the case. I do not wish to take away from his skills as an artist as I did very much enjoy the effort he put forth in the illustrations.

This did not feel like a piece of literature which could or should be credited to a 'translator', in this case, Field, the author. There are so few lines within this book that it leads to the question; who is this for? A child would most certainly fixate on the illustrations to render some sense to the 'story'. Though, I doubt very much that cherry-picking pieces of a traditional tale can count as a full story. Regardless, the words utilized within this piece do not shed much light on the girth of the belief. We are simply 'translated' that words carry importance & value. Perhaps this is a good thing to know, generally. However, that leads the question; why not just write a story from your own cultural point of view about the importance & value of meaning what you say & being thoughtful in your speech?

When reading this piece I wondered what the purpose was. As an adult I understand that the sharing of stories, traditions & practices helps us grow as individuals to well-rounded people in the world. Should this story have sought to achieve that it would have been to its benefit to work with Inuit authors, illustrators & Elders. They should have been at the forefront. For that reason, their absence is acutely felt in this story & I am left feeling a great pang of longing where their absence resides.

Thank you to NetGalley, Vanita Books, & Edward Field for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

#MagicWords #NetGalley

The illustrations in this book were full of life and colour. They made this a fun book to look at. I thought that the text was good, but very short. I think the book could have had more text on each page, or a few more pages, to make the story a little longer and allow the reader to spend more time reading the beautiful book.

Although I understand it is a story that has been passed down, it felt unfinished, unwrapped up. I could definitely use this book as a lesson about empathy and “getting in another beings’ shoes,” or body, as so goes the story. And perhaps the kids could write a reason for why this happened and why it stopped. But I felt like it ended so abruptly, it would feel good to have the author make a generalization about why, or what the people claim might be the reason?

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

4/5 - Liked it quite a bit.

I have to admit that the content of this book was a little disappointing and if I were rating this book on words alone, I would probably give it a 3 or even a 2. It is extremely short and starts off with an odd introduction in which the author says he used to think the word "eskimo" was equivalent to the Inuits without qualifying that this word is considered offensive and even a slur among may indigenous populations.

I grew up in Russia and was exposed to a lot of northern Indigenous mythology through the books I read as a child, so I was hoping for similar stories to the ones I encountered - ones filled with magic in a wintry darkness, mystical animals, and deep ties with nature. The last theme was explored, but because the whole story was just a short poem it was so brief and left me wanting more.

However, the illustrations in the book were stunning and bumped my rating up quite a bit. I loved how the spirit of animals and people being interchangeable was etched into the background images. The illustrations were epic and spine-tingling. I felt that childish joy of sitting at the edge of a fire on a dark freezing night, waiting for words to transport me to a time forgotten - a time of great power and wonderous adventure. The only odd illustration was one which featured as very European-looking mermaid who seemed a little out of place in an Inuit story.

Overall, I would get this book just for the pictures - but I do wish this was a longer book with a more cohesive narrative rather than just a poem.

Colourful, imaginative and and great illustrations.

However, there was no inuit in put. It's their myth yet it is translated and written by white men.

That was kind of a big let down for me.

I would have liked for this to be an Indigenous own voices story. It seems like the author/translator has pulled from some Inuit sources as indicated from their past works, but there is no indication here of what those sources are. Frankly, it feels like the publishers are hiding behind "translator" here because they don't indicate the source of their oral traditions (and that is certainly a standard thing in Indigenous literature --even when taking content from interviews or songs).

As mentioned in previous reviews on this publisher, the end pages indicate that they intend to donate a percentage to charitable means, but they are not Indigenous focused ones. This work while an interesting approach to animism takes the ideas and culture of Indigenous peoples and takes money that could go back to Native communities through their creators or organizations out of their pockets.

This book contained the most stunning illustrations which encourages young readers to immerse themselves into Inuit culture. I enjoyed how the story highlighted the importance of language as well as demonstrating the fact that humans and animals are alike.