The Blind Boy & the Loon by A. Arnaquq-Baril

Abstract

Arnaquq-Baril, Alethea. The Blind Boy & the Loon. Illus. Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Dan Gies. Iqaluit, NU: Inhabit Media, Inc., 2014. Print.This volume is unique among Inhabit Media’s publications in that it is produced from an animated short film called Lumaajuuq by accomplished Inuit filmmaker Arnaquq-Baril. Both the text and the images have been converted from the film. Anarquq-Baril tells us that the story of Lumaajuuq is an old one and a very long one. She has adapted and shortened it for the film. It tells of a boy who was deliberately blinded by his mother and has his sight restored by a loon. Subsequently, he tricks his mother into spearing a whale that will pull her into the sea, where she drowns and turns into the narwhal. The story ends with the admonition that “every act of revenge is a link in a chain that can only be broken by forgiveness”.The text is brief and is presented in white on a black side-bar that runs to the left of each two-page image spread. The black side-bar adds to the overall visual darkness of the book, reflecting the darkness of the story. The images by Arnaquq-Baril and Daniel Gies are usually on black, dark blues, greys and browns. All of the images are uncluttered. The characters are drawn in profile, outlined in thick black line, while the backgrounds are shaded or layers of colour. In contrast to other parts of the images, the boy consistently has an unnaturally white face, which makes him the focal point of each image.Overall this book does successfully make the conversion from film to print and makes another traditional story accessible to new audiences. It would be a good addition to public school libraries, elementary school libraries and libraries collecting polar fiction.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.