This is a fun traditional tale that would be beneficial for talking to children about the animals that populate the arctic region. It would also be good for teaching kids size ratios as every animal he eats is bigger than the one before. Great for showing the food cycle.

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the illustrations as they were realistic and could identify the animals being talked about. They added to the story by visualizing the scene and watching Amik eat all these big animals. I did not like writing. The whole book is about Amik eating all of these animals one after another- 2 small fish, salmon, seal, walrus, and a whale. However, the big message was helping the community in a time of need. In the book, the setting was in between winter and spring and the ocean had just started to defreeze. His grandmother told him Amik to go catch food and he did… by eating it all! Once he got home, he went through the eye of the needle and popped! All of the animals he ate came out and feed his community. ( )

Amik is a young boy in Alaska who is sent by his grandmother to go hunt for food to bring back for the two of them. While out hunting, Amik realizes he is very hungry and begins to eat everything he catches. At first, he intends to bring food back for his grandmother, but as he continues to eat what he catches, he realizes he is too full and tired to catch anything else to bring back. His grandmother realizes what is going on and uses magic to get the food Amik caught. This story is based on a Yupik take and teaches about greed and selfishness and the importance of sharing. Betty Huffman is the one who told this tale to the author, Teri Sloat. Both women lived in Yupik villages in Alaska and were "eager to preserve the Yupik culture through her authentic retelling of their stories". ( )

It's very funny, but I don't think it actually teaches the importance of sharing any more than [b:There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly|949709|There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly|Pam Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413746503s/949709.jpg|1224619] does. I do love the arctic setting, with the lesson about the late spring ice and all the special critters. Let's call it a funny surreal fable and let the kids enjoy it however they want to. ( )

Amik went to catch food for his grandmother and himself but he kept eating everything. Soon he was too big to fit in the hut but with her magic needle, grandma made everything come out of his belly. He did not eat anything and let his grandma and friends eat.

I did not realize Amik was growing while he was eating until he got to the hut. I also did not know his grandmother's needle had magic powers. ( )