Baseball Bats for Christmas by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak
When a bush pilot delivers Christmas trees to the remote northern community of Repulse Bay (now known by its Inuit name Naujaat) in the winter of 1955, the Inuit children don’t know what to make of these strange, spindly pieces of wood, which they dub “the standing-ups”. Their community lies far north of the tree line, and the children of Repulse Bay have never seen a tree before! Seven year old asthmatic Arvaarluk (the author) and his friends, led by Yvo, the smartest boy in the village, eventually realize that the tree trunks can actually be used to make baseball bats, and set to work making themselves wonderful Christmas presents that they enjoy all year long.
Inspired by Inuit author Kusugak’s own childhood experiences growing up on the Arctic Circle, Baseball Bats for Christmas is a warm, charming story about the ingenuity of children, which gently pokes fun at the biases and assumptions of those of us southerners who live south of 60 – why on Earth would Inuit communities in the far north ever want or need Christmas trees?! They live above the tree line! Still, the Inuit children turn these assumptions and expectations upside down, and use their creativity to turn something useless into something special, something that meets their needs, and which has real value for their community. You can almost see Kusugak shaking his head as he tells the story, and rolling his eyes at the completely oblivious outsiders, especially the ones who seem to mean well, but just honestly don’t have a clue.
Michael Kusugak is a Canadian treasure, and was one of the first Inuit authors to achieve nation-wide success and recognition. He is perhaps best known for the book A Promise is a Promise, which was co-written with fellow Canadian legend Robert Munsch, and which is based on the Inuit legend of the terrible Qallupilluit creature. His stories introduce children to Inuit life and culture, both traditional and contemporary. Set in 1955, Baseball Bats for Christmas shares a way of life that has largely disappeared in Inuit communities, but the warmth, generosity, ingenuity and spirit of Inuit communities remains unchanged. Illustrator Krykorka, though not Inuit, collaborated closely with Kusugak on several of his books, living in Nunavut with him and his family, immersing herself in the environment and the community.
Baseball Bats for Christmas is a wonderful reminder for young readers of the importance of trying ti avoid making assumptions about other communities, and is a charming tale of ingenuity and creativity, as well as a beautiful introduction to Inuit culture. Certainly worth exploring at this time of year!
This books looks like a gem! Thanks for sharing at #diversekidlit!
This book sounds lovely, I shall have to track down a copy and add it to our Christmas collection. I especially like that it is set in a specific community.
Yes, I really appreciated that too! It’s a real example of an #ownvoices story that is a lot of fun, told by a master storyteller.
So fun! And nice to see a historical fiction book about Native kids that isn’t pre-Columbian! #diversekidlit