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Sunday, March 16, 2025

I Would Give You My Tail, written by Tanya Tagaq and illustrated by Qavavau Manumie. Tundra, Penguin Random House. 2025. $23.99 ages 5 and up


"Kalluk continues on his way and comes across 
a fox den on a sandy hill. A mother and her pups
are playing on the hill, running and jumping, 
biting and chasing. 

"What makes you happy?" the boy asks, laughing. 

When his mother goes into labor, Kalluk is asked to bring his grandmother back to help. As he goes, he is fully engaged in the natural world that surrounds him, and the creatures who share his world. He first meets two hares, and asks what brings them happiness. Their answer is enlightening and offers a loving tribute one to the other: I would give you my tail if I could.

He journeys on, asking the same question of the brook that offers fresh water, and a family of foxes, before arriving at his grandmother's camp. Each has given him pause to think about what makes him happy, and what he is grateful for. The return home takes extra time as Anaanattiaq is elderly. It gives Kalluk a chance to ask his grandmother about her happiness. When she mentions that it is peace, he asks for more. 

His grandmother has a loving response: 

"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 you grows. Then one day you wake up and you are proud to be a good person. Then you have lots of peace and you can share it with others."

Kalluk's gratitude grows with his grandmother's advice, as well as what is given by all of the other encounters he has on this journey. Once home, Kalluk and Anaanattiaq are happy to discover that he has a new baby sister. He welcomes her to his world and promises to teach her what he has learned. 

"But mostly:
I would give you my tail if I could.
"                                                                                           


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