This is a beautifully illustrated children's book. It was a bit long and advanced for my three year old but would be lovely for a child that can sit for long stories. The illustrations were wonderful and my daughter loved flipping through them.

(Thanks to Netgalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

Fish-Boy: An Inuit Folk Tale is a picturebook by Vanita Oelschlager with art by Mike Blanc. It is currently scheduled for release on May 1 2018.

The Arctic region of North America is a land of long days, icy cold, hardy people and peculiar creatures. The Inuit people there have made traditional use of remarkable folk tales to find truth and explain the mysteries of an astonishing world. In this book Vanita Oelschlager retells a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. It is an origin story involving a little magic and a very odd boy with a large heart for friendship. On a journey with his new father, he must confront misfortune and the malice of cold-hearted villagers. But he has a way, and a lesson for all in the virtues of kindness and hospitality.

Fish-Boy is a beautifully illustrated tale, and one I am glad I explored. It is a little more complex and text heavy than the typical picturebook, however I think the book does exactly what it was meant to. It imparts an important tale from a culture that too many have ignored. While the laws of hospitality are not unique to the Inuit culture, I had not heard this particular story before. The art is captivating, and will keep younger readers that might not be able to read the book on their own, or understand the finer details, interested. I loved that a glossary and ideas for using creativity and expand thinking were included in the back. A bonus for those that buy the book, which I was unaware of, is that all the net profits from the sales of this book will be donate to the Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis by Vanita Books.

Fish-Boy is an older picturebook that tells a valuable story from a culture too few have explored. I think the depth of the story and wording makes it good for an audience a little older than the traditional picturebook crowd, but the story and message is one that should speak to everyone.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I initially read it alone at first. Then I read it to my son, who's three, and we discussed how much he understood and what he liked the best.

The beautiful pictures were obviously the biggest hit, especially in places where imagination could run wild seeing the boy become a fishboy - I enjoyed hearing my son's interpretations of the events happening.

I had to simplify the text here and there in order to make it age appropriate but overall I would totally recommend this book for parents looking for a fun and educational read with their toddlers.

A breath of fresh air! I simply fell in love with the beautiful illustrations and vibrant coloring. A story of Inuit culture that all school libraries should have in their collection. An absolute recommend.

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the retelling of the Inuit story. The pictures are beautifully drawn.

An Inuit child accompanies a trading mission to the Diomedes Islands. Out on the ocean, a thick fog falls and obscures their view. When it lifts, the child mistakenly thinks they are heading towards an endless beach of black sand. But it's not land - it's an enormous flock of sea parrots or Atlantic puffins. The wise old Inuit, Teragloona, promises to tell the child the story of how there came to be so many sea parrots when they reach their destination. Later, tucked into a bed of white bearskin, the child is told the story of Fish-Boy.

This is a lovely story about difference and symbiosis. It will give parents and teachers the opportunity to open up discussions about the treatment of strangers, the killing of animals for food and clothing, the environment, and passing on values from one generation to the next. Young readers may struggle a bit with character names at first, but for some of the other unfamiliar language, the author has included a nice little glossary at the end of the book. This book is also exquisitely illustrated by Mike Blanc.

Summary: An Inuit boy and his grandfather with his team sail out to trade with a hunter on the other island. They arrive on the island where the grandfather tells the story of fish-boy and his adoptive father. They, too, are trying to trade/work with other villages but it doesn't go well. Fish-boy turns the men who weren't nice into sea-parrots permanently.


It is listed age range of first grade to fourth grade. It would be a great read aloud for the younger grades. There is enough to spread the story out a few days, especially, if you're working on folktales.


The illustrations in this are lovely, calming and fun throughout the book.


Recommend? Yes, definitely recommend this book.

While out fishing a boy notices that there are many sea-parrots (possibly puffins?) on the water and poses the question of: Why are there so many sea-parrots? He is then told the story of Tukmeuk, a lame man who survives by catching fish for a living. One day he comes across Fish-Boy who asks him to be his father. Fish-Boy has no arms but proves himself to be useful to Tukmeuk. As the news of Fish-Boy spreads he is invited by Nepso-sok, a great chief, to come across the water to meet him but it doesn’t go as planned.

This is the second books I have read by Vanita and illustrated by Mike and wow – what a team. Admittedly, I have a soft spot for traditional stories – have since I was a little girl – and I did genuinely love this book.

The essence of this story is to not underestimate people based on their physical limitations. The fisherman, Tukmeuk, survives by doing the job that he can. Fish-Boy, though he has no arms, becomes invaluable to Tukmeuk to be successful at fishing. They both learn that they are not limited by their impairments but rather use what they can do to their advantages. When a nearby chief hears of Fish-Boy he wants him to come and visit and although Tukmeuk is hesitant, he agrees and with a small party head to the island.

Fish-Boy: An Inuit Folk Tale by Vanita Oelschlager is very cute story with colorful and delightful illustrations. In this story, an old Inuit man tells the story of Fish Boy. The Arctic region of North America is a land of long days, icy cold, hardy people and peculiar creatures. The Inuit people there have made traditional use of remarkable folk tales to find truth and explain the mysteries of an astonishing world.

In Fish-Boy, An Inuit Folk Tale, Vanita Oelschlager retells a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. It's an origin story involving a little magic and a very odd boy with a large heart for friendship. On a journey with his new father, he must confront misfortune and the malice of cold hearted villagers. But he has a way and a lesson for all in the virtues of kindness and hospitality.

This book as it teaches kindness and a folk tale about a region that covers most of Canada. It can be used as a tool to teach children about folk tells and about different cultures and acceptance. 

I received this ARC from Vanita Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I give this book 4/5 stars.

This was an interesting little book. My son didn’t quite understand it. It’s moral to the story I think is be kind. But frankly I didn’t like the dad in the story.

I really enjoyed this book! I would love to see more multi cultural books like this one! I am definitely picking up a copy for my school library.

Fun illustrations and a well written story. A book kids and adults can enjoy.

Beautiful picture book, but the storyline is a little weak. Usually children's story books have some kind of moral lesson, but this book is weak on that.

There's a lot to enjoy about Fish-Boy. The language is unique, and the tale is just magical enough to keep young readers entertained. I also enjoyed a lot of the artwork in the book. Fish-Boy promotes kindness, particularly to outsiders and visitors, which is extremely relevant as immigration takes center stage in American society. However, I do think that the book came across as a bit of a caricature. I was never quite sure if the author had a direct connection to the mythology of the narrative, or if it was ultimately the retelling of a retelling. I also thought that the artwork was a bit inconsistent; while I appreciate the use of color in scenes featuring sea-parrots, the pages were a jarring contrast to the earth tones and frozen landscapes.

Fist of all, the artwork by Mike Blanc is beautiful. To be honest, my favorite part of children's books is probably the art.

When it comes to what we look for in a picture book, my kids and I tend to steer away from large blocks of small print on the page. We prefer to have more pages with less words on them, than a book with lots of text on a single page. This story was on the wordier side. My six and a half year old lost interest immediately. But my 8 year old stayed through to the end.

The story paints a beautiful picture of life in the far north- their customs and means of survival. There were a lot of similar sounding names of people and places that could be a bit confusing, though. I understand that they were included to provide extra information for the reader to get an all around understanding, and from a homeschool mom perspective, I appreciate that. But from a casual reader perspective, some of that detail could have been easily omitted.

When we got to the end of the story there was a glossary of terms and list of teaching points. The homeschool mom side of me leaped for joy. When we came across the word umiak in the beginning of the story, we used the illustrations to help us understand this new thing we'd never heard of. To our delight, it was defined in the back! Some examples of the teaching topics are:

Differently-abled people and how they are viewed or treated
Killing for food and clothing
Environment
Telling stories that explain nature
Transmitting values generationally

There are more topics, but these are the ones that we actually paused to discuss or note during our reading and were happy to see included.

One last point to note: the publisher, Vanita Books, donates all net profits to charities where "people help people help themselves.' Ten percent of this book's net profits will be donated to the Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis.

My kids and I love using literature to learn about the world, and this was a great story for that. Overall it I'd give it 3.5/4 stars out of 5. I would point out again though, it is a bit wordy, and a kid like my 6 year old who loses interest quickly may not enjoy it as much.

I love folk tales and do not get to read nearly enough picture books. This one was a treat. It's a great read-aloud for up to even 5th or 6th grade. The artwork is beautiful.

Kitmesuk went out to fish one day and he discovers Fish-Boy instead: an armless boy with a fish body. They travel together and later Fish-Boy is mistreated by some villagers and uses magic to turn men that would harm them into sea-parrots, which explains the origins of puffins nesting on Ignaluk.

There is a glossary of Intuit terms that kids may not be familiar with in the back of the book.

Verdict- Buy

Interesting Inuit folktale. Like all folk tales, it's a bit strange in spots and doesn't always make complete sense. However, it is beautifully told and will suck you into the landscape and the world and make you feel richer for having read it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing a preview of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book gives a view into the folklore of the Inuit people and has remarkable illustrations. The fact that it is told by a child makes it appealing and interesting. Love the colors!

<i>This book was kindly provided to me in exchange of an honest review.</i>

This is a lovely children's story with gorgeous art.

What I love the most about it is that it's the retelling on an Inuit folk tale, so for someone who is not familiar to their culture, it is absolutely lovely and a great introduction to a new culture. I am sure kids will love it too, especially because the colorful art does have an effect on the reader.

There are important lessons for kids (and some adults, too) in this book - respecting others, being kind and inclusive. The narrative and the artwork manage to bring together a great story, to captivate your interest for a culture you may not know much about and to leave the book satisfied and with a few reminders to never forget to be respectful with others.

I do believe this book is for all ages - even though there is quite a lot of texts, a good narrator could catch the attention of a toddler with this magical story.

Fish Boy is unique in the sense that it shares an Inuit folk talk. The literature world needs more Native American stories and folk tales, so that these stories continue to live on forever. The illustrations fit beautifully with the story, and helped paint a picture of the author's message. Fish Boy demonstrated the importance of kindness and belonging by retelling a folk tale in which the Inuit people were rewarded by demonstrating kindness and punished when acting cruel.