Hide and Sneak

Inuit author Michael Kusugak (A Promise is a Promise, Baseball Bats for Christmas) again demonstrates that he is a masterful writer. A mythological figure and traditional Inuit practices, set the backdrop for this dramatic story.

Allashua ignores the inuksugaq as she plays hide-and-seek. Soon she encouters an Ijiraq--a tiny half-bird, half-human creature who loves to play. Allashua remembers her mother telling her that if an Ijiraaq hides you, no one will ever find you again. Eventually Ijiraq disappears and Allashua gets lost on the tundra. With no idea of which way to go, she heads toward a small block dot on a far-off hill. When Allashua realizes the dot is the inuksugaq and that it can guide her safely home, she understands the riddle of its existence.