New look-and-find book celebrates Yellowknife’s locations and people

Y Spy With My Owl Eyes: Yellowknife is a children’s book released this week that supports local youth and acts like a Where’s Waldo for the NWT capital.

Launched through publishing group Northern Quill, the book was illustrated by former Yellowknifer Carey Bray and created by Brendan Hancock.

The format is similar to I Spy and, while it’s geared toward children aged six and up, there’s something in there for everyone.

Bray hopes readers from across the country will learn that Yellowknife is more than a frozen tundra.

“A lot of it isn’t winter themed,” he said of the various scenes, which include representations of people he knew from his time in Yellowknife. He said the book was “like a thank-you to those people who made my time there memorable.”

His background as a landscape artist and digital illustrator helped prepare him for the project, especially the memorable details of houses, boats and buildings. Bray said this was the first time he has drawn from memory and he was excited to challenge himself as an artist.

Hancock hopes it reaches a broader audience.

“If you’re heavily involved in the community here, or you’re born and raised here, you’re going to pick up on some of the local quirks,” he said.

“There’s also a lot of useful information if you are a tourist. Every page has some facts about each scene.”

Hancock, who is a team lead for family and youth programs at the YWCA, created the book to help support the PCR (Project Child Recovery) Dudes Club. All proceeds from the book will go toward activities for the weekly after-school group.

“Within the book, you have to find a specific ptarmigan named PTommy – with a P – and that one’s wearing sunglasses,” Hancock said. Another character to search for is Owliver. 

The playful illustrations were inspired by Hancock’s experiences trying to keep quiet on a moose hunt. He said he was told to sit in a hole and wait, but found it challenging to sit in silence for hours until he started to take notice of his surroundings.

“I started thinking about how beautiful the scenery was – you know, the snow and ice on the trees – and then when I looked behind me was the North Arm. And you couldn’t tell where the horizon was because of the white sky and the white snow,” he said.

It inspired him to create the book, and he was even able to involve the children in the program.

Some of the kids who collaborated on the book were at the Yellowknife Farmers Market on Tuesday to help sell printed copies. They were excited to point out the pages on which they were featured.

“I like the book because I’m in it, and if I wasn’t, it would be worthless,” one young participant, Matthew, joked.

“The book is really good,” Sterling said, adding he likes it even if he isn’t in it.

“I’m happy that most of us are in it,” Cruz confirmed.

Y Spy With My Owl Eyes: Yellowknife will be sold at the farmers’ market on Tuesday, June 24. It is also available at Yellowknife Books, through Northern Quill Publishing and other retailers.

Correction: June 13, 2025 – 8:52 MT. Quoting information provided in a press release, this article initially stated PCR Club stands for “Positive Child and Resiliency.” In fact, Hancock said after this article was first published, PCR stands for Project Child Recovery. We’ve updated this report accordingly.