Ukiuqtaqtuup uumajungit Arctic animals

In this bilingual board book, readers learn the English and Inuktitut names for eight animals that call the Arctic home, including a ptarmigan, wolf, caribou, and bearded seal. The names appear in Inuktitut syllabics, orthographic translations (so non-Inuktitut readers can sound out the words), and English. It's a useful tool, but the book's design isn't its strong suit. On the left-hand pages, photographs show each animal in its Arctic environs; the same image of the animal also appears at right, roughly cut out of its environment and dropped, inelegantly and repetitively, on a solid-colored backdrop above its name. Available simultaneously: Marine Mammals and Inuit Tools. Up to age 3. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Little readers get a primer on arctic critters. In this simple board book each splash page has a picture of an animal in his natural surroundings to the left [1] and an isolated animal image [2] with descriptive text [2] on the right. The text identifies the animal in three ways: First with Inuit characters, than the Inuit word, and finally an English translation of the word. This is a book best aimed at parents who hope to expose their little ones to other cultures as early as possible. The book contains handsome photographs of wolves [3], lemmings [9], caribou [13], and others. The format and presentation is pretty basic, but never completely bland. The variety on animals and cool new sounds on display go a long way. Similar titles, Marine Animals and Inuit Tools are also available. A basic but effective read. (Board book, 18-24 months) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.