The Origin of Day and Night

In very early times, there was no night or day, and words spoken by chance could become real. When a hare and a fox meet and express their longing for light and darkness, their words are powerful enough to change the world forever.

Passed orally from storyteller to storyteller for hundreds of years, this beautiful illustrated story weaves together elements of an origin story and a traditional animal tale, giving young readers a window into Inuit mythology.

Written by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt | Illustrated by Lenny Lishchenko

Paperback (English) | ISBN: 978-1-77227-469-1 | $13.95 | 9″ x 8.5″ | 36 pages | Full-colour illustrations throughout | Ages 5-7 | F&P Level N |

Paperback (Inuktitut) | ISBN: 978-1-77227-244-4 | $12.95 | 9″ x 8.5″ | 36 pages | Full-colour illustrations throughout | Ages 5-7 | F&P Level N |

Praise

“Rumbolt grew up listening to traditional Inuit stories and customs shared by her family and other elders. Her cadenced retelling of this traditional origin story will help young readers learn how to compromise and problem solve. Lishchenko’s deliberate palette of black and white, plus touches of a few other colors, plays strikingly with negative and positive space and adds a subtle dimension to this story of opponents learning how to coexist. Spare and beautiful.”— ★ Kirkus, STARRED review

“This book is a must for every classroom, home, library, business school, legislature, and think-tank on conflict. I hope the United Nations purchase multiple copies! We all need this story of sensitive and nuanced ethical compromises that assure the survival and well-being of those who occupy the land—a shared joint place, a shared ecology and destiny. Highly Recommended.”—CM Magazine

“[A] picture book you absolutely must see to believe – the illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and shouldn’t be missed.”—Raincity Librarian

“A simple story told with mighty text and illustrations, The Origin of Day and Night enlightens about beginnings, people and place.”—CanLit for Little Canadians

Awards

Shortlisted — Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, 2019

Shortlisted — Shining Willow Award, Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards, 2019