The Story of the Lemming and the Owl - by Jaypeetee Arnakak (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An owl swoops down to eat the lemming for a snack. But the lemming is smart and has a plan to trick the boastful owl. How will the lemming escape into his den? Find out in this well-known Inuit traditional story that has been simplified for young readers to enjoy."--

Book Synopsis

The lemming may be tiny...but his smarts are larger than life! Can he outsmart the mighty owl?

An owl swoops down to eat the lemming for a snack. But the lemming is smart and has a plan to trick the boastful owl. How will the lemming escape into his den? Find out in this well-known Inuit traditional story that has been simplified for younger readers to enjoy.

Review Quotes

This story speaks to the importance of being one's authentic self and not being boastful. It also demonstrates the significance of using one's intellect to escape certain challenging situations. This Traditional Story is one that teaches students valuable life lessons as well as shares Inuit language, Inuktitut, with all readers. It is a book that can be enjoyed and learned from by individuals of all ages as they read through it.

-- "Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools"

Prey outwits predator in this brief fable adaptation from Arnakak, presented in Inuktitut and English. The story unfolds with short, simple sentences: "The owl is young./ He is powerful.// The lemming is small./ He is smart." While the lemming eats lunch outside its den, the hungry owl arrives and intimidates--its black talons reach for the brown rodent, depicted with a look of fear. Unable to escape into the den, the lemming tries tricking its antagonist with flattery ("You are a good hunter"), and it works--with each compliment, the bird dances a little harder, eventually becoming so distracted that the clever mammal can run to safety. Providing energy to straightforward text, Kang's lightly adorned scenes portray the expressive owl as it spins, while music notes emanating from the lemming's open mouth fill page after page.

About the Author

Jaypeetee Arnakak is a linguist, translator, and educator. He spent many years many years as a policy analyst specializing in Inuit culture, language and education issues. He is the editor of Unikkaaqtuat Qikiqtaninngaaqtut, a collection of thirty-three versions of traditional stories, transcribed and edited from oral recordings of ten Inuit elders from two High Arctic communities, Arctic Bay and Igloolik. He has also adapted several traditional Inuit stories into children's storybooks.