THE THREE HUNTERS

A spin on “The Three Little Pigs” with an Inuit setting in the Nunavut territory of Canada.

This story was written by the Grade Four students of Leo Ussak School in Kangiqliniq, Nunavut, and their teacher Gianfrancesco. After completing a social studies unit on Inuit traditions and reading a variety of fairy tales, the class wrote their own version. The result is the story of three brothers sent out to find food for their community. The youngest brother, Ajagaq, pitches a tent made of caribou skins and prepares to wait out the fierce blowing blizzard, but the wind blows the tent down. Ajagaq is rescued by the middle brother, Tiriaq, and they find shelter by hollowing out a pocket in the side of a snow drift, but the wind rips through this shelter as well. Finally rescued by their eldest brother, Akkiutaq, they find shelter in his carefully built iglu. Despite the efforts of the wind, this is one shelter it cannot blow down. The story is charming and engaging, with a fresh and authentic feeling, due in large part to the use of Inuktut words sprinkled throughout. Paredes makes liberal use of blues and white that make the cold very real, and swirling lines give movement to the menacing wind. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An inspired retelling of a beloved tale.