Dreamstones

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is also the
author of The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek, and
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Hom

Inukshuks, the ancient stone figures with humanoid shapes that were
built by the Inuit to help hunters and travelers, occupy a central place
in this dreamscape.

The story is set long ago in the Far North. A ship from England, which
overstays its time, becomes icebound in a bay, and the crew settle down
for the winter. One night, David, the captain’s son, hears the barking
of foxes and wakes to see two foxes under a crescent moon. Lured by
their playfulness, he follows the pair and is soon lost. David is found
by a strange man who builds a fire from the boards of a whaling ship and
spends the night telling David about Arctic animals and their dreams.
When the crew finds David, he is wrapped in sealskin beside an Inukshuk,
which has helped to shelter him. Inuit elders continue to tell children
about an Inukshuk that walked one special night to help a boy.

Maxine Trottier is an award-winning author of picture books and of
historical fiction for older readers. In Dreamscape she gives us a
beautiful and imaginative tale of a northern experience with magical
ambience. Artist Stella East’s icy images were painted during the dark
winter months she spent in Norway. Highly recommended.