In this month's illustrator's gallery, we feature the work of Mary Wallace, who has spent over 20 years teaching art and has illustrated over a dozen books for children. Her latest book is An Inuksuk Means Welcome.

An inuksuk is a stone landmark that different peoples of the Arctic region build to leave a symbolic message. Inuksuit (the plural of inuksuk) can point the way, express joy, or simply say: welcome. A central image in Inuit culture, the inuksuk frames this picture book as an acrostic: readers will learn seven words from the Inuktitut language whose first letters together spell INUKSUK. Each word is presented in English and in Inuktitut characters, with phonetic pronunciation guides provided. 

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Images from An Inuksuk Means Welcome, by Mary Wallace. 2015 Owlkids Books. Images appear with permission of the publisher.