Baseball Bats for Christmas -- Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak, Hardcover

Celebrate the 35th anniversary of this beloved holiday classic with a fresh edition that preserves the magic of the original story and brings it to life with stunning new illustrations.

The year is 1955. Arvaarluk and his friends watch Rocky Parsons land his plane on the ice in Repulse Bay, a tiny community "smack dab on the Arctic Circle." Having never seen trees before, the children try to guess what the six green spindly things are that Rocky delivers. One of the boys has a brilliant idea: why not use them as baseball bats?

Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak is one of Canada's foremost storytellers. Baseball Bats for Christmas captures the warmth and cadence of his voice as he describes the close-knit life of his community and the ingenuity he and his friends demonstrated when faced with something wholly unfamiliar.

Award-winning Inuk illustrator Coco Apunnguaq Lynge draws inspiration from the iconic work of Inuk artist Germaine Arnaktauyok to immerse the reader in the beauty of the Arctic landscape.

Author: Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak
Publisher: Annick Press
Published: 10/14/2025
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 10.47h x 8.19w x 0.39d
ISBN: 9781773219721
Audience: Ages 4-8

About the Author

Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak is an Inuk storyteller who grew up in Repulse Bay, NWT (now Naujaat, Nunavut). During his childhood, his family traveled by dog sled, living a traditional Inuit lifestyle. He is the author of many picture books, including Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails, winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award.

He won the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature in 2008. He lives in Valhalla, Manitoba.

COCO APUNNGUAQ LYNGE is a Greenlandic-Danish Inuit artist. She utilizes her expanding knowledge of Greenland and Greenlandic culture to tell and illustrate stories. She lives in Denmark.