I Would Give You My Tail

Written by Tanya Tagaq

Illustrated by Qavavau Manumie 

Tundra Books

978-1-77488-057-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2025

 

What is the secret to happiness? For a child sent to bring his grandmother back to camp to help with the birth of his new sibling, Kalluk finds many answers and from those who enrich his own northern life.

From I Would Give You My Tail, written by Tanya Tagaq, illustrated by Qavavau Manumie

On his journey, Kalluk encounters different animals and natural elements and asks each why they are so happy. The first, a pair of hares, find their happiness in being fast and clever but also from protecting the other. One hare even declares, "I would give you my tail if I could." A babbling brook delights in being cold and clean and enjoying the sensation of running over rocks and giving satisfaction to the fish. With each encounter, including with a mother fox and her pups, the boy feels gratitude for the food provided, the fresh water to be had, and the care and love his own mother had always given him. 

From I Would Give You My Tail, written by Tanya Tagaq, illustrated by Qavavau Manumie

When he fetches his grandmother, Anaanattiaq, they travel together back to camp. Kalluk takes time on their journey to ask his grandmother the same question. The wisdom of her words are not lost on the child.

You get peace from inside. Every day, life gives you choices, and when you make the choice to be a kind person, the goodness inside of you grows.

From I Would Give You My Tail, written by Tanya Tagaq, illustrated by Qavavau Manumie

An encounter with a conspiracy of ravens brings forth a discussion of wisdom and sharing, and ends with an airborne journey, a dialogue with the wind, and a swift delivery of Anaanattiaq and Kalluk to a home with a new infant. Now Kalluk has insight about gratitude and making good choices and more to share with his new baby sister.

From I Would Give You My Tail, written by Tanya Tagaq, illustrated by Qavavau Manumie

I defy anyone not to feel a peacefulness while reading I Would Give You My Tail. It's not as simple a story as it may appear to be. It's loaded with the calm that comes with appreciation for what we have and are given and the relationships we have with others and the natural world. Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer and author from Nunavut, fills her words with weight, the weight of virtue and relevance, generosity and acknowledgement. Through Kalluk's grasp of the messages he hears from the wind, and the hares, the ravens and the brook, he and the reader vicariously are filled with thankfulness for what is given by family and the environment. And Tanya Tagaq does so without preaching or admonishment. Her message is borne on affection and honour.

 

Qavavau Manumie, an Inuit artist in Kinngait, Nunavut, created the artwork of I Would Give You My Tail with coloured pencil. As such, there is a simplicity in the shapes and colours of the illustrations but there is still a complexity of spirit. From the natural touch of a mother upon her child's head to a boy as he watches and inquires, the art of Qavavau Manumie both emphasizes the familiar and the unique in the way of family and Inuit life, respectively.

 

Perhaps there are messages in I Would Give You My Tail about gratitude and happiness, but I also took away a sense of peace, a sense that there is appreciation for life in the natural world and among the Inuit. There is no need for grand gestures or spectacles of PDA when there is honesty and happiness that comes from doing for others, from being good, from sharing, and even from just having breath and food and water. I Would Give You My Tail gives us more than a sentimental tale of family. It gives us hope that happiness is readily at hand.

Julia, Child

by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Julie Morstad

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-449-7

32 pp.

Ages 4+

July 2014

The real Julia Child, chef extraordinaire and one of the authors of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Knopf, 1961), would be delighted by Kyo Maclear's latest picture book, though there is a cheery disclaimer that states that "the story contains no true knowledge of (the real) Julia Child" (pg. 1).  Julia, Child may not be the real Julia Child's story but the little girl who looks to sweeten the lives of others with culinary treats provides a savoury tale.

From the taste of an extraordinary sole meunière at a young age, Julia's love of French food was whipped up, and her friendship with another young gourmet, Simca, feeds that passion. The two girls enjoy shopping for food and ideas at the market and experimenting in the kitchen, learning cooking and baking from the experts.  The girls'  goal is to continue cooking happily together even as adults.

But the adults they see around them look harried and starved for the joy of childhood.  And so Julia and Simca attempt to sauté, sizzle, simmer, and fricassee that joie de vivre back into the lives of the grown-ups they know.

The subtle message and word play of Julia, Child is what made me such a fan of Kyo Maclear's first pseudo-bio picture book, Virginia Wolf  (Tundra, 2012).  Within Julia, Child, we are slathered with rich essences of joyous play in the kitchen and life.

"They cooked extra slowly to bring out the flavor of not hurrying.  They used delicate spices so the worries would disappear and wonders would rise to the surface." (pg. 16)

Julie Morstad, award-winning illustrator of How To (Simply Read, 2013) and Singing Away the Dark (Simply Read, 2011), adds her own whimsy to Julia, Child, emphasizing the methodical nature of cooking with her delineating ink lines and the wonder of childhood in her warm, bright gouache.  While Julie Morstad's lines provide that definition and structure, her choices and frugal use of colour play up the extraordinary nature of the true joy of childhood.  The collaboration of Kyo Maclear with Julie Morstad to create Julia, Child is as inspired and scrumptious as Julia and Simca's recipe for reviving youth. Bon appétit!

Virginia Wolf

Written by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Kids Can Press
978-1-55453-649-8
32 pp.
Ages 5-10
2012

As all readers do, I tried to predict the story of Virginia Wolf, without reading the jacket flaps or blurbs. I was sure it was a retelling of a story in which a wolf named Virginia went after a little girl in a yellow dress, treeing her. I should have known that Kyo Maclear, author of Spork (Kids Can Press, 2010) and adult book, The Letter Opener (HarperCollins Canada, 2007) could not pen such a superficial story.  She didn't.

Virginia, awakens feeling "wolfish": dark, unhappy, reclusive, determined to shut out the noises of the world. Her sister, Vanessa, is surprised by the extent of Virginia's doldrums, and unsuccessfully tries to cheer her up. Only when she makes the effort to ask Virginia what she needs is Vanessa successful in using her artistry to engage Virginia and brighten her mood.

In Virginia Wolf, Kyo Maclear's Virginia suffers from "wolfishness", expressively represented by Isabelle Arsenault's frenetic, shadowy illustrations. But Isabelle Arsenault's joyous Bloomsbury of flowers, greenery and iced cakes exemplifies the soothing beauty of Vanessa's artwork which brings relief to her sister's dark mood.

Kyo Maclear's text accentuates the overwhelming nature of Virginia's mood while depicting the nebulous attempts by Vanessa to help her sister. Appropriately, the reversal is gradual, with a swing to help change direction, a ladder to lead upward, and a gray snail that unanticipatedly reaches a mountain top.

"Down becomes up. Dim becomes bright. Gloom becomes glad."

Virginia Wolf is loosely based on the relationship between writer Virginia Wolf (1882-1941) and her sister, painter Vanessa Bell (1879-1961), who both helped establish the Bloomsbury Group, a guild of creative thinkers. The real Virginia Wolf suffered from mental illness, which manifested itself in depression, nervous breakdowns and ultimately her suicide. The sisters' names and the references to their brother Thorby and Bloomsbury suggest that Virginia Wolf is Kyo Maclear's uncomplicated take on depression and how it is experienced intrinsically and extrinsically. The alliance of Maclear's tale with Arsenault's illustrations has produced an accurate, touching, and enlightening portrayal of caring.

***

This unique book trailer for Virginia Wolf, narrated by a young voice, helps promote the need to understand how to help anyone who may feel "wolfish".

Uploaded by kyomaclear1 on Feb 13, 2012 to YouTube.