My Ittu: The Biggest, Best Grandpa

Maniq has just come home after spending the day with her ittu or grandfather, and she hands her mother a frozen fish, part of the day’s catch. Maniq’s description of her ittu as being “the best at ice fishing" is just the first of many outstanding qualities that Maniq attributes to him, including his being “big and strong”, “the best and bravest hunter”, and “very generous”. How Maniq’s ittu feels about his relationship with his granddaughter is expressed on the closing page as Maniq’s mother shares, “[Y]our ningiuq [grandmother] always says his heart shines bright‚ just like he is a little boy again‚ when you two are together.”

Illustrator Paredes portrays Maniq as living in a conventional “southern” house and wearing “southern” clothing. It’s only when Paredes visually takes her readers outside that the northern setting is made clear via her renderings of the terrain, the climate and the local wildlife. Deal’s use of superlatives to describe Maniq’s ittu are reinforced by Paredes’s art which, for example, shows the “bravest hunter” wrestling a polar bear or demonstrating his almost superhero strength by having him lift two snowmobiles and five full jerry cans.

The book closes with a “Glossary of Inuktut Words” that, via three column format, provides for each of the six Inuktut words found in the text, the word, its phonetic pronunciation, and a definition of the word. For example, the word ittu is pronounced EE-too and means grandpa; old/elderly man. A note clarifies that: “The pronunciation guides in this book are intended to support non-Inuktut speakers in their reading of Inuktut words. These pronunciations are not exact representations of how the words are pronounced by Inuktut speakers.” The book misses an opportunity to introduce another Inuktut word on the spread in which ittu is teaching Maniq how to properly cut mattaaq (whale skin). Paredes’s illustration has ittu using a standard “southern” carving knife as “He patiently teaches me how to handle a blade of my own.” However, the blade that Maniq is using is an ulu.

Deal’s text also touches upon some Inuit values, especially when Maniq ascribes the value of generosity to her ittu, with the related text reading:

He shares food that he has hunted with everyone.

He can walk through fierce blizzards to make sure people have delicious food to eat.

My ittu knows that sharing is important.

My Ittu: The Biggest, Best Grandpa is not a plot-driven story; instead, it quietly celebrates the special relationship that can exist between a grandchild and a grandparent. As such, the book has universal appeal.