Putuguq & Kublu

Danny Christopher, 1975-

Book - 2017

"Putuguq and Kublu are a sister and brother who cannot get along. They love to pull pranks and one-up each other every chance they get! When one of Putuguq's pranks does not go as planned, the feuding siblings find themselves on the land with their grandfather, learning a bit about Inuit history--between throwing snowballs, that is."--

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Subjects
Genres
Comics (Graphic works)
Graphic novels
Published
Iqaluit, Nunavut : Inhabit Media [2017]
Language
English
Main Author
Danny Christopher, 1975- (author)
Other Authors
Astrid Arijanto (illustrator)
Physical Description
35 pages : chiefly color illustrations ; 21 cm
ISBN
9781772271430
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Part graphic novel, part early reader, this cheeky story opens in "a small community just north of the Arctic Circle," where siblings Putuguq and Kublu are busy doing what brothers and sisters everywhere do: messing with each other. Putuguq lies in wait as the book opens, hiding behind a snowmobile in hopes of scaring his older sister. "She will never suspect a thing..." he gloats, right before Kublu dumps a snowball on his head ("I can hear you whispering to yourself!" she crows). The subsequent chase leads to a tumble and a conversation with the children's grandfather about the inuksuit (stone markers) that dot the landscape and often date back thousands of years. The verbal sparring and pratfalls (including a ripped-pants gag that even gets a chuckle out of Grandpa) are well-matched by newcomer Arijanto's bright, crisp cartooning; her chunky images lend the characters a doll-like quality, and the blue skies and fields of yellow-green grass offer a vision of the Arctic beyond expanses of ice and snow. Endnotes about inuksuit and the vanished Tuniit/Dorset people round out an entertaining story of sibling one-upmanship. Ages 5-7. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.


Review by Kirkus Book Review

A contemporary story of sibling rivalry set north of the Arctic Circle in a First Nations community. The eponymous characters are a First Nations brother and sister pair who live in a small Inuit community on Arviq Bay, rendered in a detailed map on frontmatter pages. After the children get into a minor squabble fueled by some airborne snowballs, their grandfather encounters them on the tundra and talks with them about inuksuit, rock formations with practical and spiritual importance to their ancestors and to the Tuniit people, who predated the Inuit. Putuguq and Kublu listen to his words, adding in their own comments and questions, and then Putuguq ends up making his own inuksuk to hide behind in order to take playful revenge on his sister. This turn of events contradicts the message embedded in their grandfather's earlier praise for Putuguq when the little boy resisted chasing after Kublu for laughing at him because his pants split to reveal heart-dappled underpants. At the same time, it also humanizes the contemporary First Nations characters, making them accessible to readers. Further enhancing this sense of accessibility is the layout of the book, which adopts comic-book conventions such as panels and speech balloons to deliver the story and employs a brightly colored cartoon style that seems influenced by a Japanese manga style. Endnotes provide more information about inuksuit and the Tuniit people. An emotionally and spiritually warming visit to the Arctic. (Early reader. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.