Customer Reviews

Kumak's Fish: A Tall Tale from the Far North

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On a spring day in the Alaskan Arctic, Kumak announces "Good day for fish" and packs his family, along with Uncle Aglu's "amazing hooking stick" into their dogsled for a day of ice fishing on the nearby lake. This Iñupiat variant of the traditional tale of the enormous turnip demonstrates that it takes a village to catch a fish. An endnote explains Bania's inspiration for her tall tale.

Bania's watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations, depicting the icy Arctic setting, provide readers with authentic details of the Iñupiat culture and show the joyfulness of the characters.

Two-year-olds through nine-year-olds enjoyed this book and were captivated by Kumak. They appreciated the dialogue and repetition of numerous phrases. The ending especially intrigued the children.

My son wanted a book on eskimos...this was the best find I could have hoped for as Kumak and his village spend their day fishing and helping one another as only a fishing village can do. My son celebrates the victory as he jumps up and down on the final page yelling, "Hurray for Kumak!" We even had to go out and buy fishing poles so he could demonstrate just how exactly the amazing fishing stick twitches "this way" and "that way." A read-aloud that is great fun and teaches children about families, communities and other parts of our globe.

The writing makes this a great read-aloud. Kumak needs the village to help him catch a fish - they all have to pull and pull and pull - what has Kumak caught in the ice fishing hole? It must be pretty powerful! A great "fish tale".

Kumak's Fish by Michael Bania is hilarious, whimsical, and clever. The artwork is lively. The language fresh. Even after twenty readings, children still lean forward in suspense anticipating the joyous ending. Not just a fun story to read, but one that shows the significance of community. When the entire village bands together, it's a great day for fish!

I'm in university taking elementary ed and this is a great story to read to students about Inuit culture in Canada. It's a big part of the curriculum now and I think literature is a great way to teach students about cultures. Great little story and great for division one!