Elisapee and her Baby Seagull by N. Mike

Abstract

Mike, Nancy. Elisapee and her Baby Seagull. Inhabit Media, 2017.In this picture book, Nancy Mike tells the story of an Inuit girl who raises a seagull from a chick to adulthood and finally returns it to the wild. Through caring for Nau, the seagull, Elisapee learns “how to care, how to feed an animal and how to have patience.” Finally she learns to let go as the grown-up Nau joins the other seagulls. Mike’s text is simple and age appropriate for the intended lower elementary audience.Charlene Chua’s pictures fill most of the book with colour. The text is overprinted on the backgrounds. Her artwork is cartoonish. The characters have oversized eyes and tiny noses, reminiscent of Mickey Mouse or some manga characters. However, her images do capture the natural world of the Arctic environment. Chua has included some fun visual jokes, such as a large gull trying to fit into a small box and a krill jumping from a boy’s hand when he’s trying to feed the gull.This book gently introduces some life lessons in an Inuit context. Highly recommended for public libraries and school libraries and for libraries that collect Inuit children’s literature.Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.