Book Review || Clyde River, My Home (2025)
"Louise tells us about all the things she and her family like to do. With the annual fishing derby in the spring and Hamlet Day in the summer, there are lots of fun things to do throughout the year. "
The narrator welcomes readers to her home with a smile, & delightfully bright clothes. Clyde River is a place where the narrator lives alongside her community & her family; they fish, put on shows, work together to clear the snow, & have settled. What the narrator hopes readers find in her reflections is love towards her Northern community.
The eye is easily drawn in by the illustrative style used in this book. The constructive lines & brilliant colour schemes radiate as the narrator describes her home, the people she loves, & the spaces she calls her community. This all reminded me quite significantly of books that I read when I was growing up, leaving me eager for a generation of young readers to be met with such passion for the arts.
With that being said, this is not a story that readers will seek out because it presents something they can sink their teeth into. For readers who have curious minds & whose love of reading spans all genres, this little story about a young Inuk will bring them to the edge of the community where she lives & watch them eagerly rumble down the hill to meet her.
Yet, for others, the bilingual usage of Inuktitut might result in frustration; words that are long & tongue twisting they are not used to. Neither of these are innately negative features of the story, but guardians who bring this book to prospective readers may need to remember who their little reader is.
In that same breath, readers should be encouraged to explore their homes. The narrator lives in a part of the country not often explored by city-dwellers & this is a shame; the beauty is exquisite. Therefore, I am left feeling glad to have come upon a short quip into the lands I have not yet walked, led by a most enthusiastic & genuine narrator whose value for her community reminds me of the blessings of home.
Thank you to Edelweiss+, Arvaaq Press, & Louise Flaherty for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
C. 💌