An, enchantingly-illustrated Inuit folktale, Fish-Boy, retold by Vanita Oelshlager and illustrated by Mike Blanc, is well-worth a second read.

Fish-Boy is told as a story-within-a-story. A young boy listens to one of his elders tell the story of how there came to be so many sea-parrots near the water that surrounds the islands. Oelshlager writes the language in a way that echoes the oral tradition. However, the star of this book is the art by Mike Blanc. Bright colors, soft patterns, and visually exciting composition make them stand out and capture readers and listeners alike.

This book would be at home in any library with a large folktale collection, especially those looking to diversify their collection.

This is an Inuit folktale about why there are so many "sea-parrots," aka Atlantic Puffins. It is beautifully illustrated and eloquently told. I want to buy this in hardback to keep in my children's home library with other folktales from around the world! This will be a lovely addition to our collection. This is a little on the long side for my 3 year old right now - there are a lot of words on each page so it likely won't hold his attention for long enough to read everything on each page, but in another year or two I think he'll be ready for this book.

There is even a section at the end listing new words for young readers (example: Igloo, kayak, etc.). What a great resource!!

I've been an advocate for more diverse books and am so glad for the work author Vanita Oelschlager does. Her children's books are always well-done, well illustrated and give back. I wish we had more people out there that create art and story with meaning and community in mind.

I like Fish-Boy and many Inuit tales, but this one meandered oddly. Rarely does one discover what was once an oral tradition to stay on point, but this story zig zagged to its finish. Had it been more linear, I think myself/children would have followed better.

Nevertheless, it's a solid book from a culture that doesn't get enough exposure.

I love the art, it's super gorgeous. The story is nice, too.
The idea is great, talking about a fish boy (I thought he was like mermaid but apparently no XD) and how people often look down other people who looks weak.
However, I feel it is too wordy for kids. Maybe it'll be more appreciated by teenager.

This beautifully illustrated book from the Inuit folktale of the same name, is about a fish boy, fisherman and their village. As a huge fan of mythology and folklore, I enjoy seeing the lesser known tales brought to life for the world to enjoy.

As a picture book, I wpuld definitely say this is for older readers. Young children will enjoy the illustrations, but the story itself any be a little difficult for them to grasp. Recommended for ages 7+.

The illustrations. The illustrations. The illustrations. Superb, magnificent, and beautiful . The supplementary content that's included is a perfect addition to the book, making it a must have for teachers in the classroom.

The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, and the story is interesting and well-told, but I have two major problems with it that I just couldn’t get over, which is why I’m docking two stars on my review. The first problem is that the author repeatedly uses ableist language to refer to a disabled character (“lame” and “differently-abled”), which, even if not meant in a harmful way, still perpetuates harmful attitudes and behaviors toward disabled individuals.

The second problem is that, by all the information I can find online, the author is white, and has no ties to the Inuit people. Thus, this is not her story to tell, and it strikes me as a form of cultural appropriation for her to do so. If she does in fact have Inuit ancestors of a close enough relation that she can claim being part or all Inuit, then she should make that clear in her author bio at the end of the book, but with the knowledge I was able to amass before writing this review, I am very uncomfortable with the significant undertones of cultural appropriation. Oelschlager has done this before by writing books about gay people and East African people (and maybe also some others that I haven’t read), as well, and I have come up just as empty when researching her then as now on evidence that she has anything to do with those minorities—much less that she is a part of them, herself. The same goes for the illustrator—this is not his story to draw. I’m not saying the story shouldn’t be told or drawn, because I think it’s a great story, but it should be someone of Inuit descent who tells and draws it. White people have enough stories of their own to tell without also capitalizing on the stories that minorities from around the world have historically been punished for trying to tell, themselves.

There are a few grammar mistakes in the book, but I didn’t dock any points for them, because they shrink in comparison to the other points, for me.

- To learn more about ableist language, read this: http://www.autistichoya.com/p/ableist-words-and-terms-to-avoid.html
- To learn more about cultural appropriation and telling someone else’s story, read this: https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/06/cultural-appropriation-wrong/

Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager, Mike Blanc (Art) is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book is based on an Inuit tale and told as such. It is very cute story with colorful and delightful illustrations. I love old folk tales and I think more kids need to here the old traditional folk tales, they seem to be getting lost in our society now. In this story, an old Inuit man tells the story of Fish Boy. This will certainly keep the kids entertained and wanting to read or hear it over and over again. Very cute!

Beautifully illustrated Inuit folktale about fish-boy and the fisherman and the village that wronged them. As with all good folk tales, there is a moral to the story and also a beautifully thought out explanation for something that would otherwise be quite mundane such as why are there so many sea birds?

I think it's a story for slightly older children. The illustrations are enough to entertain younger children, but the use of language and perhaps the morals of the story are definitely more targeted towards older ones.

Fish Boy is an original beautiful children's book by Vanita Oelschlager following the tale of 'The Fish Boy' a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. The story is set in the Arctic lands of North America following Fish Boy and his new father as their struggles against neighbouring villages teaches the reader why kindness is is always the better option to choose.

I am always excited to see books set in different cultures showing the reader a new perspective and especially in a children's book as you don't often read about the Inuit culture.

The art is beautifully drawn bringing great views to the open white planes of the Arctic and even as an adult I enjoyed reading this story which provided a nice lesson for the reader.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.
Some may think 3 stars is low (expecually for this author!) But for me, 3 stars is pretty good! While I did not quite fall in love with this book so instantly as I have with Vanita Oelschlager's other books (they are amazing, you have to check them out!) I did still enjoy reading this. It took me u til about half way through to really get into it, and it left me thinking a bit about it and the messages the story tells. I wont give them away but its good if you or your child is interested in other cultures and also in learning positive messages as this story has quite a few good ones. It does have some hard to read words so just a little warning for letting young children reading this alone. As usual, I loved the illustrations and I would recommend this.

Lovely artwork accompanies this Inuit folktale about where the sea parrots come from. Even though Fish-boy has no arms, he has a big heart and some helpful magic. I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it!

It's easy to get caught up reading stories from the most popular mythologies (Norse, Greek, Egyptian), I am so happy that there are more and more great picture books coming out that cover lesser known myths and legends. This is the third Inuit picture book I have read with my kids in the past year, it's fun to read about different myths from many cultures and helping them figure out how these stories developed and how details reflect important parts of daily lives. Fish-Boy was a very relatable story for my kids because it is told as a story within a story, the first person narrator is a young child listening to the Fish-Boy legend from an older adventurous man. Young readers are able to connect to the narrator, my kids were very interested imaging what life in the Arctic is like for a kid. In addition, important lessons about guest-friendship from the legend are reflected and emphasised in the narrator's story. Fish-Boy is a great book for mythology lovers.

This is a wonderfully colourful tale of the Inuit. It tells the story of where many of the sea parrots come from and what that has to do with malice and hospitality. It's also a story of inclusion and how handicapped people can still be of value to the community (never judge by looks alone). There is prejudice, as people aren't perfect, but the good ones learn from their errors while the bad ones get their just punishment.
And the story is a story within a story because the old folk tale is told by an elder during a journey - I always like that.

Accompanying the old tale are cute and wonderfully colourful illustrations, making this a bit more interesting (visually) for younger readers. Apart from the type of art, I really mostly enjoyed the little details like the carving on Kitmesuk's walking stick and the bright rainbow colours.

I checked if this was "just" a story from an author in an Inuit setting or an actual old Inuit tale and it seems to be authentic, which is very nice. Cultures like that of the Inuit have wonderful tales and it would be nice to find more of them in bookstores.

Beautiful illustrations. A story on how there are many sea parrots on the shore of the Diomede island

Thanks to the publishers for the ARC. It's a good attempt, and definitely an area that does not get much story telling of: Inuit population of the Diomede islands (specifically Ignaluk where the story is set) that are located in the sea between Russia and U.S.A., its customs and basic survival instinct.

The basic premise of the tale is the myth of how so many sea-parrots came to be on the shore of the smaller Diomede island, Ignaluk (which has a very small civilian population of indigenous people left) as well as how people are envious of and, at the same time, are afraid of things they cannot understand or control. It's also about mob mentality and it's destructive influence. But none of the characters feel true. They are wooden and cold.

Also there are so many questions / plot holes: Why is the boy called a 'Fish boy' when he clearly has no genitals one way or another? Why does the boy get no name let alone an Inuit name other than the 'Fish boy'? And for such a magical being, why didn't the Fish-boy already have a name? Or choose its own name? More importantly, why did the Fish-boy pick Kitmesuk to be a father? No qualities of compassion or humaneness are shown in him to warrant such trust. I mean, it almost seems like the old guy, Kitmesuk was exploiting this human-like fish to bring him food. What quality of life did the Fish-boy have once on land other than being an unpaid child laborer? Also, a leader like Nepos-sok who is mindful of his own power, offended by competition would not have let go the golden-egg goose without making sure his people got plenty of fish. In fact I'm surprised no one tried to kill Kitmesuk when they reached 'the great village beyond Narrow Waters' and before St. Lawrence's Island to take control of the 'Fish-boy'. I don't know, I just thought the story comes across as artificial as opposed to wonderful.

The pictorials / drawings are okay, but considering all the action in the book, there is usually a solo figure image per page and the expressions of all characters remain the same (aka static wooden pose.) Also, the way the boy listening to the tale in the beginning as well as 'Fish-boy' are drawn, their eyes are round as opposed to the almond-like slant of Inuits. so I didn't get what ethnicity they are supposed to be or look like.

3.5 stars I was very interested in reading this book because of the subject matter. I can't recall ever having the opportunity to read more about Inuit culture in school (or outside) and so I jumped at the chance. The artwork for this book was incredibly beautiful and really brought the story to life. I loved reading about the mythology, however, the framing of the myth inside of the little boy's trip felt clunky to me. Also, it was a bit hard to tell what age group this is meant for as it had lovely illustrations, but also quite a bit of text. Overall this was utterly unique and I hope we get more like this.

I read "Inuit Folk Tale" and that's all I needed to know.
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This is a story about why there are so many sea-parrots (puffins) on St. Lawrence Island, told in the book by the old storyteller Teragloona. But it's also a story about acceptance, love, and not treating people with differences as oddities.
I found the story sweet but not sappy, instructive but not lecturing.
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I'd recommend this for older elementary readers. I use my nephew, who's 7, as a measure for both attention span and comprehension, and this is a little above his level.
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The author includes a glossary for unfamiliar words and phrases, as well as ideas for teaching and potential assignments to build off the reading. In addition, 10% of the proceeds for sales of this book will go to Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis.
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Overall, even if I didn't like the story (which I do), I'll still buy this book because of its extras, and I'll be looking for more Vanita Books for the same reason.
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I received this book as a digital arc from NetGalley.

This wonderful folk tale teaches about Inuit culture. And, explains why sea parrots became so numerous around the stony islands of the far North. A lame Inuit fisherman is fishing when he see something unusual in the water that has a head like a young man and feet behind its tail, speaking to fisherman, "Do not spear me. I am not a fish. I am Fish-Boy." The lame fisherman becomes Fish-Boy's father and together they help us learn of this tale which includes lessons in kindness and tolerance..

This was a tale I had never heard of. It is a lovely one to use for children in helping them to learn about other cultures. The artwork is beautiful and would help in teaching about hospitality and kindness.