Stones, Bones and Stitches is a handsome new volume in Tundra’s Lord Museum Book series (which consists of books built around specific museums’ holdings). This installment, written by Shelley Falconer, senior curator at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and assistant curator Shawna White, focuses on eight significant pieces of art in the Ontario gallery. Combining stories about the artists with stories about their works, the text aims to give Inuit art a serious and sophisticated treatment for children. In addition to educating readers about particular artists, the book also covers the scandalous treatment of the Inuit by the Canadian government.

I appreciated this effort to situate the art within its culture and history, but felt this context was not always made relevant because it was parcelled out in discrete sections rather than integrated into the main narratives. Instead of using sidebars to give definitions, for example, the text italicizes new terms, then, later in the section, explains them. Since the notes were not all in one place, it was awkward to flip ahead to find them, and often by the time I came to the information, I’d forgotten the point of it. This fragmentation makes it more difficult to sustain interest.

Children may also be alienated by the prose; much of it reads like catalogue copy and lacks the lucidity and tone suitable for a young audience, as well as the depth to satisfy older readers. Perhaps the decision to market the book for “all ages” has led to this problem: in aiming to please both kids and adults, it fails to suit either group.