With his entire household—wife, wife's mother, children—unhappy with their small house, an Inupiat man named Kumak goes to the oldest, wisest elder in his village for advice in this humorous "Tale of the Far North." Aana (grandmother) Lulu advises inviting Rabbit and her family to move in with them, which Kumak promptly does, only to find the house smaller than ever! In a series if visits, this wise old elder—herself engaged in a variety of traditional crafts—advises inviting more and more animals to share the abode, until finally Kumak's house is full to overflowing. Her final piece of advise, to eject all of these visitors, leads to the desired result: now the house doesn't feel so small...

Published in 2002, Kumak's House: A Tale of the Far North is the first of three picture-books devoted to the adventures of the titular hero—subsequent titles being Kumak's Fish: A Tale of the Far North (2004) and Kumak's River: A Tall Tale from the Far North (2012). Michael Bania, the author/illustrator, lived for many years in Buckland, Alaska, where she raised a family and taught in the local school. According to her detailed afterword, the story here was inspired by traditional folktales, but was created to give Bania's students an original story set in their own village. For this reason, I have classified both as a fairy-tale, and as folklore (as it is folklore adjacent). As it happens, I discovered it in the folklore section of my public library, and decided to read it for that reason. All in all, I thought it was an engaging tale, with a silly sense of humor that will no doubt appeal to younger children. The artwork, which looks like it was done in watercolor, is cute, and captures the sense of humor throughout. The story here is quite similar to the Yiddish folktale, It Could Always Be Worse, making me curious to know whether there is an Inupiat variant of the tale type, that Bania used as inspiration. With all the animals crowding in to Kumak's house, I was also reminded a bit of the Ukrainian tale of The Mitten. Unfortunately, Bania's extensive afterword gives plenty of information about traditional Inupiat activities, but doesn't specify the exact stories which inspired her own. Leaving that aside, this is one I would recommend to young readers who enjoy folktales and folktale-style stories, as well as to anyone seeking picture-books with an Alaskan, arctic, and/or Inupiat cultural background. ( )

Story about Kumak’s family who are all unhappy with their small home. He seeks Aana Lulu for advice because she will know what to do. The author follows Kumak in a humorous journey again and again, activities and makes the reader laugh all while doing so through funny illustrations. ( )

Fiction: Pattern Picturebook
Bania, Michael Kumak’s House. Illust. by Michael Bania. Alaska Northwest Books, 2002. 32p. Primary/Intermediate
Delightful story of Kumak and his family who are unhappy because they think their house is too small. After getting advice from Aana Lulu, they fill the house up with animals and soon see that it wasn’t so crowded before after all. Set in an Inupiat village in the northwest Arctic. Told in a narrative point of view, the writing is playful and flowing. Theme is being content with what you have. Humorous, warmhearted painted illustrations.
AK: Inupiat family and village life, Arctic animals ( )