Les Aurores Boréales: joueurs de soccer is the French edition of Inuk storyteller Michael Kusugak's picture book, Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails. In this story, the reader meets a young Inuk girl named Kataujaq and her family. Kataujaq loves the changing seasons with all their variety. Readers ride along with Kataujaq as the family travels by dog team. In summer, Kataujaq goes out to pick tiny flowers for her mother, who cherishes them even after they have withered and died. Kataujaq learns many things by her mother's side. But one day, Kataujaq's mother gets sick and leaves for a southern hospital and never returns. The young girl is filled with sadness. One night when the Northern Lights appear in the sky, Kataujaq's grandmother tells her a story about the lights. The Northern Lights are called Aqsalijaat, which means, the trail of those playing soccer. Grandmother explains that the thin strands of light moving quickly across the night sky are really loved ones that have died. The Inuit believe that when people die, their souls become the Northern Lights. So when winter arrives, the souls of the departed appear as the Lights playing a rousing game of soccer. Kataujaq begins to feel better knowing that her mother will always be near playing soccer with many others. This is a delightful story about the traditional Inuit game of soccer. The story introduces young readers to the Arctic environment as well as Inuit culture and beliefs as seen through the eyes of an Inuk child.
