Tuutarjuk: The Spirit of String Figures

Written by Louise Flaherty and Neil Christopher

Edited by Jaypeelee Arnakak 

Illustrated by Kagan McLeod

Inhabit Media 

978-1-77227-664-0

40 pp.

Ages 9–13

September 2026 

 

While few children could relate to an obsessive passion for string games, they may recognize those activities in which they engage excessively according to their parents and teachers. As such, the story of an Inuit girl who does not heed the lessons of her grandmother and the instruction of her mother is a true cautionary tale of spending too much time on one activity. 

Illustration by Kagan McLeod from Tuutarjuk: The Spirit of String Figures, written by Louise Flaherty and Neil Christopher

In Tuutarjuk: The Spirit of String Figures, told in both Inuktitut and English, two sisters, Nyla and Sima, spend much of their time at their Baffin Island outpost camp challenging each other at string games. Though both had learned how to create animal forms with the strings from their Nanngaaq (grandmother), Nyla, the older sister, is the more experienced and often wins these competitions. Unfortunately, she has also become too proud of her skills.

 

When the girls' play begins to keep them from helping the family out, their mother, Maata, and grandmother try to rein them in. Nanngaaq tells them the story of Tuutarjuk, the spirit of string figures, who would come and challenge those children who were playing instead of sleeping. If Tuutarjuk won, he would take the children away and was rumoured to eat them. Sima heeds her grandmother's warning, but Nyla disregards her story, until her Maata stops her from playing for a few days. 

Illustration by Kagan McLeod from Tuutarjuk: The Spirit of String Figures, written by Louise Flaherty and Neil Christopher

But Nyla is both angry and determined to play. That night when everyone is asleep, Nyla awakens and practises the string figures she'd dreamed about creating. And, just as Nanngaaq warned, Tuutarjuk appears and challenges her to a game. Each would create a string figure that the other has to recreate quickly. If she cannot replicate his creations, he would take her.

Illustration by Kagan McLeod from Tuutarjuk: The Spirit of String Figures, written by Louise Flaherty and Neil Christopher

Though she is frightened, Nyla matches Tuutarjuk's string figures. But it becomes more and more challenging as Nyla cannot see how he creates elaborate string animals. (He has more fingers than she and he works so quickly.) Will her skill keep her safe, or will Tuutarjuk, the spirit of string figures, be victorious and collect his reward?

 

The idea that losing a game could cost you your life is frightening, but it is very much a metaphor for those who succumb to the temptations of obsessive behaviours, whether it be gambling, drugs, or overuse of digital media. Those who cannot break free of their destructive habits do lose parts of their lives, whether it be respect, love, finances, or health. Nyla's arrogance keeps her from giving her elders the due they have earned and from heeding their wisdom. They only want to keep her safe, but she sees it as control. Tuutarjuk may be a mythological creature, but he was created to help guide children's behaviour and to explain that which may not be explained, such as children disappearing. So Louise Flaherty (author of The Gnawer of Rocks, illustrated by Jim Nelson, Inhabit Media, 2017) and Neil Christopher (author of Those That Cause Fear, illustrated by Germaine Arnaktauyok, Inhabit Media, 2016) have given us a tale that connects the Inuit community to their culture and ancestry but also provides a moral lesson about obsession, arrogance, and respect. 

 

Kagan McLeod, a Toronto illustrator of comics and for newspapers and magazines, keeps all the right elements for an Inuit legend. Kagan McLeod takes us into an Inuit qarmaq (sod house) in winter in which the women and children spend much of their time by creating an organic environment of a qulliq lamp, stone walls, and parkas. His choice of colours, all warm browns and greys, gives us warmth and is offset well with the darkness that Tuutarjuk brings.

 

I know that many children do not know the pleasure of string games, especially now that tech is so prominent in their lives. But perhaps a reading of Tuutarjuk: The Spirit of String Figures will pique their curiosity, though not to the extent that the game becomes a distraction from real life responsibilities. If it does, this book is a reminder that listening to one's elders is essential, especially when they warn you about doing too much of something because they know the detriment it can cause to relationships and to other responsibilities.