The Origin of Day and Night

By Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt, Lenny Lishchenko (illustrator),

Book cover of The Origin of Day and Night

Book description

In this Inuit tale, the actions of a hare and a fox change the Arctic forever by creating day and night. In very early times, there was no night or day and words spoken by chance could become real. When a hare and a fox meet and express their longing…

Explore

Topics

Genres

Mythology

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Origin of Day and Night as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Robin Currie

Author

I appreciate the genuine Inuit voice of this story of creation, so I researched the author.

Rumolt is active in the Inuit community and teaches elementary school there, but her education was started by her grandmother’s traditional tales. The book is in spare text in the tradition of the storyteller. The art is primarily black and white with touches of color, all the more welcome as a surprise.

In the end the story is about compromise and friendship and a beautiful introduction to a unit or theme of creation, seasons, or mythology.

From Robin's list on for winter reading.