Putuguq & Kublu and the Qalupalik

Putuguq & Kublu and the Qalupalik is part of a series of short graphic novels about two Inuit children, Putuguq and his older sister, Kublu. You can tell by their names that these children live in Canada’s far North in a town called Arviq Bay. At first, Putuguq pretends that he is a hunter and that his dog Lulu is a 1000-pound walrus that he caught on a hunt. He looks like a regular kid in a hoodie and puffer coat, but there is a lot of ice and snow where he lives. His grandpa drives a snowmobile and goes hunting for seals.

When Kublu tells Grandpa that she is going to meet her friend Lisa at the shore of the bay, Grandpa tells her about a scary creature that lives underwater under the ice and takes children. The little boy actually sees the qalupalik in the water.

Even though I don’t believe in the qalupalik, this book still gives me the creeps. It may be too scary for little kids. The qalupalik is very ugly and scary in the illustrations. But a brave kid may enjoy this fun-to-read, short book about kids from an Inuit town.