Kumak's River: A Tall Tale from the Far North

As Bania explains in a note, the annual breakup of river ice in Alaska is cause for celebration, even when a particular year's ice build-up and weather cause rampant flooding. In this not-so-tall tale, when "chunks of ice as big as houses" jam on their passage to the sea, Kumak and his neighbors perch on their roofs in the warm spring air while, hour by hour, the river water rises around their houses. Children rejoice in a school-free day, while Kumak fends off ice with a pole. Still, the river "went wherever it wanted to go. And it did whatever it wanted to do," sweeping away dogs tethered in boats, oil drums, fish nets, and toys until at last the jam bursts, the river returns to its bed, and people are free to seek and find (the tall-tale part) their belongings and to anticipate their summer relationship with the life-sustaining stream -- fishing, boating, and the vital annual trek to summer camp. The cheery line and watercolor vistas of smiling Iñupiat, dogs, and gulls enjoying their adventure amid pounding ice and deep blue water are a fine match for the well-paced text. For anyone in the lower forty-eight who has suffered from extreme weather and its consequences, the depiction of people thriving in harmony with a natural environment that both challenges and sustains them offers plenty of room for discussion. joanna rudge long