It Bears Repeating

by Tanya Tagaq, Cee Pootoogook (Illustrator)

Overview

This beautifully crafted picture book celebrates one of the world's most awesome animals: the polar bear. Evocative but simple text by award-winning musician and artist Tanya Tagaq is accompanied by striking art in this classic counting book.

Beginning with 1 proud polar bear standing tall and ending with 10 bears waving goodbye, this delightful counting book shows polar bears in all their forms: slippery and fast, crafty and cool, hungry and proud. Tanya has created a story meant to be read aloud, incorporating simple Inuktitut words and using her keen ear for the musical sound of language.

This book is joyful, powerful, clever and striking — much like the bears who sniff, slide, swim, hunt, play and dance through its pages. And when you get to the last page, you won't be able to resist going back to repeat the journey!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774880555
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	08/20/2024
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

TANYA TAGAQ is a Canadian (Inuk) throat singer from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nunavut, Canada, on the south coast of Victoria Island. She is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and bestselling author. A member of the Order of Canada, Polaris Music Prize and Juno Award winner and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is an original disruptor, a world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political and environmental change. Tanya's first book was a novel called Split Tooth, which won and was nominated for numerous awards, including the prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize (longlisted). It Bears Repeating is her first book for children.

CEE POOTOOGOOK is the eldest son of the late Napachie Pootoogook and Eegyvadluk Pootoogook, and older brother to the well-known Cape Dorset contemporary artist, Annie Pootoogook. Around 1990, Cee began carving and he developed a solid reputation for his curious and well executed depictions of spirits and transformations. In 2009, Cee gave up sculpture and began work as a stonecut printer. In a very short time, Cee demonstrated an aptitude for the precise and methodical qualities required for the time-consuming work of editioning prints. He has also been drawing for the past several years, depicting the day-to-day activities of community life as well as traditional subjects and wildlife. Cee has exhibited his work across Canada, the United States and Germany.

Editorial Reviews

"An intriguing, culturally responsive primer . . . It does, in fact, bear repeating." —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] most worthy addition to home collections as well as libraries serving the pre and early school audience. Highly recommended." —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"Rich language and striking illustrations take this counting book beyond the standard fare. A real treat and recommended." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2024

PreS-Gr 2—Polar bears and their antics are the vehicle for this beautiful counting book by two Inuit creators. Tagaq shares the story of, at first, one polar bear "stretching up to sniff the air" and adding on until there are "ten waving bears" after a day of playing, hunting, and sleeping. Pootoogook captures the bears on a spare background with a playful energy that will delight children and their caregivers as they examine the changes in shape and form of the bears making their way through the day together. There is a reference to a story time video of the author reading the book, which will add to the appreciation of both the English and Inuktitut that make up the lyrical text. VERDICT Rich language and striking illustrations take this counting book beyond the standard fare. A real treat and recommended.—John Scott

School Library Journal

2024-05-04
A simple counting book woven with Inuktitut language.

A polar bear stretches to start the day. “Atausiq nanuq / One bear / One proud bear. / Stretching up to sniff the air. / One tall, long bear.” A page turn reveals two lumbering, powerful creatures sliding down the ice. “Marruk nanuuk / Two bears / Two sliding bears. / Fur is a perfect sled. / Two slippery bears.” The Inuktitut words are in a larger typeface and blue. The bears swim, hunt, and eat, gaining a new ursine friend each time. Every action is realistic except when the bears start to square dance, gathering in a circle, paws in the air—a somewhat out-of-place addition amid the deliberate and spare language. Pootoogook’s textured bears are fluid and sprawling; he employs a bird’s-eye view at times, looking down at the majestic, lumpy beasts as they swim and slide. After the bears complete a full day (and Tagaq counts up to 10), another reading is encouraged—hence the titular instruction. It does, in fact, bear repeating. Backmatter includes translation and pronunciation guides, as well as a URL to a video of Tagaq reading the book aloud.

An intriguing, culturally responsive primer. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews