Whale Snow Paperback – Illustrated, July 1, 2004

This book is well-written with beautiful illustrations that sprawl all the way across the pages. It tells a story of important whaling customs and beliefs, teaches some small language snippets, and portrays a love for one's people and the animals that feed your community. There is celebration for warm food, for sharing your abundance with your neighbors, and celebration for the whale that gave that to them. It's a good way to either teach your Inupiaq or Inuit kids about culture, a way to teach your non-Inupiaq kids about other people's customs, or could be used as a conversation about where our food comes from and how important it is to give thanks and care for the animals, because let's be realistic: we eat animals, and your kids will eventually find out what's in the chicken nuggets!! On that note, I've seen some reviewers saying our whaling is barbaric, which is honestly just plain racist and wrong. In the circum-polar region, a head of broccoli can cost $12 USD and produce, milk, etc is all flown in and therefore out of our price range. How people eat is not only a means of culture and spirituality, it's a means of survival. One whale feeds an entire community when grocery stores are not an option. Responsible whaling was never an issue with Indigenous peoples, taking only what we need to live. Great history lesson opportunity that's not taught in schools :)All in all, this book is beautiful, accurate, and a great resource for education! It's a little wordy for younger kids but summarizing could be good -- my 6yo easily sits through it as it is though. I highly recommend it!

Beautiful illustrations and fictional story that tells aspects of life in north alaskan culture.

There have been many books, including children's books,written about Arctic Alaska and the Inupiat who have lived there for thousands of years, and thrived in the harsh environment. But most of the authors have been outsiders.Now here is a children's book about subsistence whaling written by residents of a primarily Inupiat Eskimo community in Arctic Alaska. It features a young boy Amiqqaq who learns about the "fat snow" or "whale snow" which comes in spring when a whale has given itself to the people, to help nourish and sustain them. He also learns about whaling and the spirit of the whale.The book is well written by Debby Dahl Edwardson,and beautifully and sensitively illustrated by Annie Patterson. Reflecting the title of "Whale Snow," Patterson has managed to include big fat snow flakes in every illustration, even those showing the interior of a house.Both Edwardson and Patterson live in Barrow, Alaska, the farthest north community in the United States. And this local perspective helps develop the story and illustrations to a very high level.It is a great book to read to your children some chilly evening. In addition to the story, Edwardson has included background on subsistence whaling and a list of "Words to Know" in the Inupiaq language. So readers young and old can be informed at the same time they are fascinated with the story and art work.Enjoy the book!Earl

I am a cultural arts instructor and storyteller and I highly recommend this book. It has beautiful illustrations and most importantly teaches about the life ways of the indigenous Alaskan people today and in the past. A great gift and great fir a school library.

Lovely book. A little hard for my little Floridian daughter to follow (there is no snow or cold here) but I loved it, and I love the unity feel of the night's dinner together. Very very special. My deepest thanks to the author for sharing this with us.

I highly recommend his book. It is beautifully written and illustrated. It's a wonderful and meaningful story rooted in reality. I'm thankful that we found it on Debbie Reese's web site.My family comes from the Yoreme people, but we were neither raised Yoreme nor do we currently live in Yoreme community. We're raised Chicano/Mexican. We value our Yoreme heritage and value learning from those who were/are raised Yoreme and live in Yoreme community. We value learning about other indigenous cultures, and the similarities and differences among Native cultures that span the Western Hemisphere. Children's literature based in reality about Native peoples has been a great resource for our family. WHALE SNOW is an excellent example of such excellent literature. And Debbie Reese's website has been a tremendous tool in finding high quality children's literature, based in reality, about the lives of Indigenous peoples.In reading WHALE SNOW, I'm grateful for my family's chance to learn about traditional Iñupiaq whaling. My experience is that there is a pervasive cultural attitude in the white dominant culture in the United States of profound disconnection from the earth and living beings on earth. I have a deep appreciation for the opportunity this book has given my family to grapple with and challenge the ways we've been affected by what I see as a disconnected and pretentious attitude towards animals and whales in particular. This book has shown us a different way to relate to whales than how we were raised, a way to relate to whales based on real respect, deep connection and interdependence.I think of the ways that some people sometimes believe that romanticizing or putting a person or group of people on a pedestal is a sign of respect. This happens to Native peoples, women, children, people of color and others. Usually romanticizing someone or putting someone on a pedestal is a symptom of a much deeper lack of respect and/or understanding, often a sign of systematic oppression. I think many of us have also been trained to relate in this way to other life forms and the earth as a whole. A lack of real connection and understanding and a lack of real respect can result in believing that patronizing romanticization is a sign of respect. This can lead to an attitude that people who aren't acting in patronizing and/or romantic ways are being disrespectful, whereas it's likely just the opposite of this.I think the future of humanity currently depends on our ability to come to terms with where many of us have become disconnected from other people, from other life forms, from the whole earth, and maybe most profoundly, from our own selves.

Nice strory