Those Who Dwell Below

"Johnston beautifully blends a portrait of the traditional Inuit life on the land with Inuit mythology and folklore to create a novel that will grab young readers from the first page...Johnston not only effortlessly mixes fact and fiction but has also created in Pitu a character that young readers will care deeply about good thing, since theres a third book in the works."The Globe and Mail "Rich in detail and culturally nuanced, any reader will find the story approachable and connect to its themes of friendship, compassion, and trust...An elegant sequel that can dwell on its own."Kirkus Reviews "[Aviaq Johnston's] writing, which includes traditional culture and mythology, opens the door to an entirely new world for her southern Canadian audience. She helps her readers travel to a part of Canada which most of us will never experience firsthand. She introduces readers to the sights and sounds and smells of the Arctic as well as to traditional culture."CM Magazine "The novel is deeply layered and rewarding...Through a lithe series of philosophical dialogues about tradition and change, arrogance and respect, Pitu must think deeply about himself and his community. Readers are sure to come away with a broader sense of these themes. The books stark yet striking illustrations add a further layer for contemplation."Resource Links

Aviaq Johnston is a young Inuk author from Igloolik, Nunavut. Her debut novel Those Who Run in the Sky was released in the spring of 2017. In 2014, she won first place in the Aboriginal Arts and Stories competition for her short story Tarnikuluk, which also earned her a Governor Generals History Award. Aviaq is a graduate of Nunavut Sivuniksavut, and she has a diploma in Social Service Work from Canadore College. Aviaq loves to travel and has lived in Australia and Vietnam. She spends most of her time reading, writing, studying, and procrastinating. She goes back and forth between Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Ottawa, Ontario. From his early days of reading sci-fi and fantasy books, Toma Feizo Gas has been fascinated with the dramatic scenes portrayed on the covers of those books. There started his lifelong love affair with telling stories through pictures. Today, Tomas key influence remains the people in these stories, the motives that drive us, and the decisions that shape us, propelling him to craft bold visual statements and contrast in his own art. As a career illustrator, his work can be found gracing the pages and covers of titles such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, the Star Wars and Mutant Chronicles role playing games, as well as several upcoming fantasy novel series. Jaypeetee Arnakak is a linguist, translator, and educator. He spent many years as a policy analyst specializing in Inuit culture, language and education issues. He is the editor of Unikkaaqtuat Qikiqtaninngaaqtut, a collection of thirty-three versions of traditional stories, transcribed and edited from oral recordings of ten Inuit elders from two High Arctic communities, Arctic Bay and Igloolik. He has also adapted several traditional Inuit stories into children's storybooks.