Way Back Then

By Neil Christopher and Germaine Arnaktauyok

Kudlu’s children will not go to sleep until he tells them a story of long ago. Before they will shut their eyes, they want to hear about a time long before Kudlu was born, a time when the world was magic. They want to hear about giants, animals disguised as humans, little people the size of lemmings, and all the other wonderful things that existed way back then.

Way Back Then uses the format of a sweet and simple bedtime story, written in both English and Inuktitut, to introduce readers to several myths from Inuit mythology.

This book is the perfect introduction to Inuit folktales and myths for those who are not familiar with this rich mythology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inhabit Media
• Release date: Nov 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781772270990

Neil Christopher

Neil Christopher is an educator, author, and filmmaker. He first moved to the North many years ago to help start a high school program in Resolute Bay, Nunavut. It was those students who first introduced Neil to the mythical inhabitants from Inuit traditional stories. Together with his colleague, Louise Flaherty, and his brother, Danny Christopher, Neil started a small publishing company in Nunavut called Inhabit Media Inc., and has since been working to promote Northern stories and authors.

Book preview

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Reviews for Way Back Then

[salsabrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An Inuit father shares brief origin tales with his children who want to hear stories from "long ago" before they go to sleep.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Kudlu's two young children ask for a bedtime story in this bilingual Inuktitut/English picture-book, he tells them of what life was like in their northern world, "way back then." Young, and full of magic, the world held many wonders, from giants to little people who could change their size at will. Kudzu tells his children how night and day came to be, through the conflict between fox and raven; how caribou came to be on the land, after being accidentally released from their underground home; and how the sea became populated, thanks to the severed fingers of a beautiful girl tricked into marrying a bird spirit. These and many other stories are shared by Kudlu, until the children are finally sleeping...A delightful bedtime book, one which offers both an exploration of traditional Inuit folklore and mythology and an engaging depiction of a more contemporary, although still traditional Inuit family, ᑕᐃᒃᓱᒪᓂᐊᓗᒃ / Way Back Then pairs an engaging narrative from author Neil Christopher with appealing, subtly-colored artwork from illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok. Many of the stories shared by Kudlu can also be found in fuller form in other Inhabit Media publications - the tale of how night and day came to be in Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt's The Origin of Day and Night (although that version concerns a fox and a hare), or the story of how caribou came to the land as "Origin of the Caribou," in Ibi Kaslik's Tales from the Tundra: A Collection of Inuit Stories - but others were new to me. My favorite, of the latter, was probably the idea of magic igluit (igloos) flyinf through the air, at the request of their residents. I find the Inuktitut syllabary quite fascinating, so I appreciated that this was a bilingual edition. Recommended to anyone looking for Inuit-themed bedtime stories, or for a very basic introduction to Inuit mythology.