Fishing with Grandma
by Susan Avingaq and Maren Vsetula
Inhabit Media, 2016
ISBN 978-1-77227-084-6
$10.95, 32 pp, glossary, chart, ages 6 – 8
inhabitmedia.com
This colourful picture book tells the story of two children who accompany their grandmother on an adventure to a frozen lake to jig for fish. The grandmother teaches the children which clothes to wear, what equipment to bring, how to drill holes in the ice and the proper use of the fishing gear. At the end of the afternoon, the children have caught a number of Arctic char. With their grandmother’s help, they distribute the extra fish to Elders in the village. A chart at the end of the book describes the Inuit fishing tools and gear and a glossary gives the definitions for some of the Inuktitut terms.
Classroom Connections: This well written and clearly illustrated book can be used by primary school teachers to address several areas of the curriculum such as seasonal changes, adaptations needed to survive changes in weather and temperature, food sustainability, and Indigenous fishing practices. During the reading of the book, students can be encouraged to practise their thinking skills by making predictions, asking questions and connecting aspects of the story to their own lives.
Review by Brenda Boreham.
This review appears in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Fall 2020 Issue.
