Already a published author with 2018's award-winning, Elliot Page-approved tome Split Tooth, Tanya Tagaq will now expand her bibliography with a new children's book. The Inuk artist will share It Bears Repeating on August 20 via Tundra Books.
Recommended for children aged three to seven years, It Bears Repeating is a counting picture book starring polar bears, illustrated by multi-hyphenate artist Cee Pootoogook.
It Bears Repeating teaches the number sequence by showing the eternally cool Arctic animals "in all their forms: slippery and fast, crafty and cool, hungry and proud," per an abstract.
In addition to English, Tagaq's story incorporates "simple Inuktitut words," while her "keen ear for the musical sound of language" makes for a story "meant to be read aloud."
"I love children's books and children themselves," Tagaq shared with CBC Books. "I wanted to write this book because learning to count is such a sweet time in a child's life. I hope readers (and parents) will also feel the pun is amusing."
Tagaq recently made her acting debut in True Detective: Night Country. Her turn on the drama series followed her 2023 documentary film Ever Deadly, directed alongside Chelsea McMullan. The artist's most recent album is 2022's Tongues.
