Kumak's Fish: A Tale of the Far North

This is a humorous tall tale about an Inuit family that goes ice fishing together. Kumak, the father of the family, has borrowed his uncle's lucky hooking stick, and he snags something so big that he can't pull it in by himself. Soon, the whole village forms a chain to help reel up the enormous

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fish, which turns out to be a huge chain of fish all holding on to one another. This book honors the Inupiaq values of cooperation, sharing, and humor, and ends happily. A great tall tale to showcase these positive values, as well as aspects of traditional Inuit culture. Humorous illustrations, also by the author, enhance the text. Recommended for ages 4-8.

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Kumak, an Inupiat man living with his family in a small village in the "far north" of Alaska, returns in this follow-up to his initial picture book adventure, chronicled in Kumak's House. As the first days of spring arrive, Kumak realizes that it is a perfect time for fishing, and he and his family

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set out for the nearby lake, where they make holes in the ice, and patiently wait for the fish to bite. Our hero, using his Uncle Aglu's famed hooking stick, waits longest of all, until finally there is a powerful pull on the stick. Unable to hold on by himself, Kumak is aided by his family, and eventually the entire village, all pulling together to get the fish out of the water. But what is the fish doing...?

The second of three picture books featuring Kumak and his village—the first being the aforementioned Kumak's House, the third being Kumak's River—from author/illustrator Michael Bania, who lived for two decades in the Arctic, Kumak's Fish: A Tale of the Far North is a title I found (along with its companions) in the folklore section of my local public library. That being said, although the first book is folklore adjacent (it seems to be an Arctic retelling of the Yiddish folktale, It Could Always Be Worse), this book is more of an original tall tale, one in which humans and fish play a game of tug-of-war. The story is amusing, and the accompanying artwork expressive, ably capturing the humor of the scenes being depicted. Recommended to picture book readers who enjoy folktale-style stories, as well as to anyone seeking tales with an Alaskan, arctic, and/or Inupiat cultural background.

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