Kamik Takes the Lead

Jake and Kamik are finally ready to run their first dog sled race with a full team! But there is a lot to do to prepare, and Jake must follow his uncle’s lead if he and his dogs are going to be ready for the early spring race.

Kamik Takes the Lead is the fourth installment in the Kamik series of books following Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story, Kamik’s First Sled, and Kamik Joins the Pack. Books in this series share traditional dog-rearing practices and dog-training techniques from the remote community of Arviat, Nunavut, through the life memories of community members. These books preserve the rich history of working dogs in Nunavut and celebrate the traditional bond between Inuit and their sled dogs.

Building on the dog-training practices outlined in Kamik Joins the Pack, Arviat, Nunavut, author and dog musher Darryl Baker shares with young readers the basic information needed to prepare a dog team for a race.

Darryl Baker is a teacher in Arviat, Nunavut. He was born in Churchill, Manitoba, and raised in Arviat. In 2006, Darryl graduated from the Nunavut Teacher Education Program, along with other Inuit from the same community, and he has been teaching at the Levi Angmak Elementary School since. Besides his career as a teacher, he enjoys dog mushing and has been an active participant in Hudson Bay Quest and other dog team races between Rankin and Arviat. He started raising dogs as a young man, picking up interest from his late brother-in-law, Bernie Sulurayok. As a young boy, he often went hunting for seals at the floe edge with his brother-in-law. He eventually started raising dogs on his own, spending quality time with them and bonding strongly, gaining respect. Today he is still actively mushing and hopes to pass it on to his twin boys.

Ali Hinch has been working as a full-time illustrator and designer in educational kids’ literature since getting her degree in illustration from Sheridan College. She’s also dabbled in puppet concepts, set design, storyboarding, and writing for animation. Currently living in Toronto, she spends a lot of time drinking iced tea and making new dog friends.