The Origin of Day and Night is a retelling of an Inuit folktale about two animals, a hare and a fox, who rely respectively on daylight and moonlight to find their food sources. As a result, there is conflict as neither can agree on whether it should be light or dark. They eventually decide to share and that is how day and night were created. The black and white illustrations are breathtaking and really bring out the atmosphere of the story and the duality of night vs day. This is an excellent bedtime story and great for teaching children about other cultures and folktales.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

The Origin of Day and Night, published in September of 2018 by Inhabit Books, is the illustrated retelling of an ancient Inuit tale, passed from storyteller to storyteller and into the loving hands of Inuit author, Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt. Her sparse, but lyric words are paired perfectly with the contrasting illustrations of artist Lenny Lishchenko, to create a beautiful story book that serves as an excellent introduction to Inuit mythology to non-Inuit children, and with an Inuktitut language version, gives great representation to Inuit children themselves.

The Origin of Day and Night is, well, an origin story. Our two protagonists, Tiri, the Arctic Fox, and Ukaliq, the Arctic Hare, are basically fighting over whether darkness or light gets to reign over the world. Tiri prefers the night time, because their night vision gives them a better chance to hunt unseen, while Ukaliq prefers the day because that’s when they can find their food. As the two trade off speaking their will into existence (and teach Inuktitut words in the process), the world goes a bit awry, though considering that in the far north, night and day don’t work on the same clock that we’re used to closer to the equator, this actually makes sense. Through the argument of Tiri and Ukaliq, the black and white illustrations swirl across the pages, adding a great deal of visual interest while our protagonists try to sort things out.

The Origin of Day and Night shows children how to find compromise between two seemingly irreconcilable positions, while also presenting a piece of the rich mythology of the Inuit and the beauty of the Inuktitut language. Suitable for children ages 4-9.

Written by Jen Zink

This was a book whose cover caught my eye first. The way that it is designed reminds me of a million ways that the Ying Yang sign has been made but this time with a rabbit and fox.

The actual story also ends up reflecting the same polarity with both a predator species and a prey species who both need different times of day to survive. It does mention that the rabbit may become food for the fox but at least within the pages of this telling the fox avoids finishing the fight with a midnight bunny snack.

What I love about this is the fact that it does include Inuit names and Inuit words at least for the main subject but I wish they would give a pronunciation guide. It always made it more fun when I could actually try to pronounce the words the way they are suppose to send like Barloo and Shere Karn.

The telling is given in the right voice for its origins while capturing animal behavior in both the telling and its illustrations. As such it already feels so much more original.

The illustrations are charming and simplistic with a very easy color scheme. Like the cover it allows the reader to focus on the polarity and the actual environment with a few splashes of color thrown in to break-up the sameness.

All in all I would say that it is a very good origins tale for children or adults who want to know about the Inuit beliefs. Fun, simple to read and gorgeous it would make a great addition to any library.

***I received a free copy to read of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

The Origin of Day and Night is an Inuit story about day and night told through a fox and a rabbit. Good story for young ones with good vocabulary words.

The Origin of Day and Night (2018), written by Paula Ikuutaq Rumboltand and illustrated by Lenny Lishchenko, is an Inuit tale passed orally from generation to generation. It’s the story of a fox who can only see to find food at night and a hare who can only see to find food in the light. The two animals struggle to find enough to eat before the other uses powerful magic language to conjure their preferred lighting. They eventually agree to strike a balance between day and night for their mutual survival.

Evocative illustrations, at once simple and rich with detail, as well as a thoughtfully unfolding narrative bring this beautiful origin story to life. I highly recommend this book for school and home libraries. It makes a sweet bedtime story for those who have outgrown Sweetest Kulu, another Inhabit Media offering.

Inhabit Media does a wonderful making a range of Inuit stories available. I’ve never read a book by this press that I didn’t love, and they offer an admirably eclectic range of themes and styles.

The artwork was beautiful and I enjoy the knowledge that this is based on an old Inuit legend, but the story itself wasn't very entertaining and was extremely repetitive.

Creation myth about Arctic fox and Artic hare. Tiri, the Artic Fox who loved the dark because he could hunt for food without being noticed. He had special eyes that could see in the dark and magic words to keep the world dark. Arctic Hare, Ukaliq, could not see in dark but had magic words to make the world light so she could find food. Tiri could not see in the light and Ukaliq could not see in the dark. Colorful illustrations depict how Tiri and Ukaliq learn the best way to take turns making light and dark.

The Origin of Day and Night is Inuit tale on the cycle of day and night. Fox needs darkness to hunt, Rabbit need light to forage. Can a agreement can be struck for both animals to benefit?

This Inuit retelling introduces a different voice of Indigenous storytelling using modern language and contemporary illustrations, This picture book would be enjoyed by preschoolers to early grade students and would be a wonderful addition to any folktale or indigenous collection.

I have received a ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

The Origin of Day and Night is a great retelling of an Inuit tale, telling how a fox and a rabbit brought us day and night. This would be a unique way to incorporate culture and folk tales into a classroom. The story is simple, but conveys the importance of working together alongside the origin of day and night. I would like to see this used alongside other folk tales of day and night.

Thank you Inhabit Media and NetGalley for the lovely book. I love fairy tales and legends. This Arctic story tells the tale of the origin of day and night. When a a hare and fox disagree over a preference for light and dark, day and night are born. With fun illustrations and an interesting story, this would be an excellent picture book for young readers.

This was ok. It's a story about how night and day came to be and about sharing.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting pourquoi tale explaining how day and night came to be. The fox and the hare both wanted to hunt for food, one in light and one in dark. They had to figure out a way to share the time between both. This is a wonderful addition to a folktale collection looking for another tale.

This title was graciously provided to me by NetGalley for review. 

I chose it because I am an adult who shamelessly reads children's picture books, but also because of the cover art and the fact that it is based around Inuit legend. 

So, the story opens with Tiri, an artic fox, and describes how his nocturnal eyes help him steal food in a world where there is only night. This is also apparently a time when speaking things makes them real. I want a story on how that magic was lost from the world. 

Book publication! 

Debt eradication! 

See, magic is gone. 

So, we get introduced to our next critter friend, Ukaliq, the artic fox. 

I feel like he is going to be important to the story since, ya know, he is on the cover and everything. Well, this rabbit hoppy-hops his way in and says the word day. Now, remember whatever is spoken is real in this world so...you guessed it, day arrives. In a world that has always been dark I wonder how the rabbit knew what day even was. Well, our fox is a night critter who can see in the dark and so as the sun comes up he begins to lose it because he can't see. He is, as you would say, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. 

*Badum Dum!* 

So, our rabbit friend goes and finds some moss to munch on and as he is munching finds the fox feeling around like a blind man in the dark and he says, "I like it better like this." So, the conclusion of the story is...

Well, you gotta read it to find out. 

It is a good story. The more into it I read, I realized that I was reading about a world much farther north than my Mississippi town. Far up north the summer daylight can last for, well, days; and, the winter night can drag on for weeks. Remembering this fact made the story more believable. 

I did enjoy this read. I would have to say that I will have to get a physical copy of it for my collection.

While there isn't an overwhelmingly wonderful message and the story does not have much in the way of truth going for it, <i>The Origin of Day and Night</i> by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt is a very cute story about taking turns. Perhaps the best thing about this book, for me anyway, was the fact that one of the characters is a fox.

I loved the artwork and deeply enjoyed the expressive and gorgeous arctic fox alongside the arctic hare as they battled for the ability to see. One felt more comfortable at night in the dark and was blinded by the sun while the other struggled to survive without the light.

Ironically enough, I imagine most people liking the hare, but I myself was more fond of the fox and his struggles while the young white rabbit just seemed like a snot to me. I loved them both, of course, and enjoyed the story immensely though I wouldn't say it's one of the best children's books I've ever read.

The fox and the hare fight regularly in a rather silly way for the world to live in night or in day until finally, upon realizing that the other will regularly work to change the state of the world to their preferred day or night, they make a compromise to give each other a reasonable amount of time to eat and survive before changing it back.

And thus, <i>The Origin of Day and Night</i>,

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The Origin of Day and Night is a beautifully illustrated Inuit tale about how the cycle of day and night came to be. I had never heard this tale before and it is a really lovely story about a fox and a hare who have to work together to make sure they both get to eat because Fox eats at night but Hare eats during the day. The illustrations are sparsely colored and suit the story perfectly.

The file for Kindle is a bit mis-formatted, so I can’t fully comment on what appear to be lovely illustrations in a traditional Inuit art style, but the characters and plot are well-drawn and we DESPERATELY need more non-Eurocentric myths and legends, esp. from #ownvoices writers and illustrators like those who worked on this book.

I received a complimentary e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.