Napachee

Brenda Baltensperger is a playwright, a director of children’s
theatre, an editor of children’s fiction, and the author of Fractured
Fairy-tales.

Like most teenagers, Napachee is dissatisfied with his life in Sachs
Harbour (in the Northwest Territories) and longs to visit a big city.
When two men from the Edmonton zoo set up camp on the edge of town in
order to capture two polar bear cubs, Napachee sees his opportunity. He
volunteers to care for the one cub they catch and stows away in the
bear’s cage during the plane and truck ride south. Startled by
Napachee’s sudden appearance, the truck driver veers off the road, and
the bear is set free when its cage is overturned.

Because of bad weather, Napachee is forced to remain in Edmonton as the
guest of James Strong, the zookeeper, and his daughter Jo. Napachee
finds that living in the city isn’t at all what he expected, and he
longs to return home and make his peace with his father. To prove his
acceptance of his place in the culture and traditions of the Inuit,
Napachee, with Jo’s help, tracks down the bear cub, and all three make
the long journey back to Sachs Harbour and reconciliation.

This spellbinding tale envelops the reader in the fascinating life and
culture of the Inuit and Invialuit. The glossary at the back of the book
translates the Aboriginal words, while a map of Nunavut and the Arctic
area north of the 60th parallel covers the journey made by Napachee and
Jo. No school or library should be without this valuable book. Highly
recommended.