1. Ivik, although well-behaved, is often boastful. Can you identify several instances when he boasts or exaggerates?

2. What sorts of food do Ivik and his family eat? Would you enjoy eating the same foods?

3. Ivik's mother and grandfather kill their dogs for food. Why is it necessary for them to do so? Why do they keep the deaths of these animals a secret from the children?

4. The Eskimo hunters set their dogs upon a polar bear, then kill it. Is this cruel behavior?

5. The hunters who take Ivik home know that the family must have faced some terrible disaster but do not ask Ivik what has happened. Even at the end of the story, Ivik's younger brother and sisters expect that their father will return home soon. Why is it that no one ever mentions the death of Maryark?