Comment l'ours blanc perdit sa queue
Jacques Pasquet
Illustrations: Alain Reno
Montréal : Les 400 Coups, 2003. 32 p.
(Les Petits Contes)
ISBN 2895400849
Ages 4 to 8
Storyteller Jacques Pasquet relates this Inuit tale told to him by elders from the village of Ivujuvik. He traces the origins of the pompom on the nassak, a kind of toque worn by Inuit. In the olden days, white bears had long bushy tails, but then a hunter's trick led to problems for the bears.
Alain Reno displays skillful use of his materials and Photoshop montage, producing detailed sketches in acrylic, pastel, pencil and ink on a collage background. While resisting the temptation to simply imitate Inuit art, he has created a uniquely original polar universe.
-JP