Akpa's journey

Pelletier chronicles a thick-billed murre's first weeks in this text-heavy tale of Arctic migration. The lengthy story begins with a speckled turquoise egg on a rocky ledge: "A tiny murre named Akpa crouched inside, covered in wet feathers, almost ready to hatch." Predators come hunting, but Akpa's parents keep the egg safe, and once the bird emerges, they fill his belly with "an endless stream of gleaming fish." With winter on the horizon, the chick begins an incredible journey with his father--swimming for days until his flying feathers develop and he can at last launch himself aloft. Along the way, encounters with other marine creatures are played for full anthropomorphized effect as they offer advice for the journey ("Just keep your pointy end headed in the right direction," says a friendly narwhal). McLeod's thick brushstrokes render a sea of deep blues and green, creating a vibrant backdrop for the carefully drawn murres. An endnote and map conclude. Ages 6--8. (Oct.)

The amazing migration of a murre chick, hatched in the Arctic and combining swimming and flying for a journey unique in the bird world. Nesting high on cliffs that tower above the sea, murres gather in the thousands, nesting pairs taking turns guarding the egg from predators and keeping it warm and then feeding the chick once hatched. The book follows the titular chick as he grows through late summer. On a night with a full moon, the fathers and chicks leap off the cliffs into the sea. The young birds cannot yet fly and will start their migrations by swimming with their fathers. Along the route, Akpa grows stronger, learns important skills, and meets a narwhal, a walrus, and a seal, all of whom give him advice that comes in handy several weeks later when it's at last time for Akpa to take to the skies to finish his journey. This relatively unknown migration will fascinate readers who are mature enough to sit through the rather lengthy text, and the language will captivate: Winter would soon be "slowly stitching the waves together with ice." "Fish darted like silver needles sewing a silky blue gown." The blockiness of the cliffs lends a nice visual texture to the slightly stylized artwork, especially against the blues of the sky and sea. Dialogue uses italicized text rather than quotation marks, and the endnote contains additional vital information. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Readers will not want to miss this migration story. (range map, glossary of Inuktut words) (Informational picture book. 5-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.