Illustrated by Jon Van Zyle
Walker & Company, 2003
ISBN: 0-8027-8856-4
Ages 5 - 9
AWARDS AND REVIEWS:
Nominated for Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Award
"Miller's text includes not only lyrical messages about light and its partner, darkness, but also references to the reaction of wildlife to the waxing and waning of sunshine: the migration of birds and caribou, the hibernation of bears, the changing coat of the Arctic hare...Van Zyle's superb and quietly beautiful acrylic paintings capture both light and dark in perfect harmony with the text...A winner."
- School Library Journal
"A lovely treatment of a difficult concept and a very special place."
- Kirkus
CREATING THE BOOK:
A few years ago, an editor at Walker Books suggested that I write a book about the light in Alaska and how it changes through the seasons. She noted that few people really understood the dynamics and beauty of our polar light. It was a wonderful idea.
One of the reasons why I love living in Alaska is the light, through all of our seasons. In the winter we don't have much direct sunshine, but we have stunning low-angle light that creates long shadows, lingering sunset colors, and glistening snow. We also experience extended periods of twilight, mountains bathed in alpenglow, moonlight on snow, and the magical northern lights. Winter in Alaska is not truly dark. It is much darker at night in the tropics than in Alaska.
In describing our dramatic, ever-changing light, I decided to focus on the surroundings of my home in Fairbanks and interior Alaska. Light and temperature information on each page reflects Fairbanks records.
I learned about many new terms and phenomena as I researched our glorious light. Sun dogs, sparkles, glints, diamond dust, blinks, alpenglow, twilight, and the dancing northern lights - light conditions that stun us and give Alaska's magnificent wilderness a special beauty.
Through Jon Van Zyle's exquisite acrylic paintings, I hope that readers gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of our light at the top of the world.
FUN FACTS FOR KIDS:
Did you know that...
* On December 21st our family and friends only see the sun for 3 hours and 43 minutes? On this shortest day of the year, known as winter solstice, the sun rises at 10:58 a.m., and sets at 2:41 p.m.
* the word solstice comes from the French words sol(sun) and status (to come to a stop).
* In Fairbanks we have a midnight sun soccer tournament. It is light enough to play soccer games at midnight!
* the northern lights can be seen on many clear, dark nights in Alaska. The lights occur when fast-moving charged particles from the sun mix with other gases in the upper atmosphere above the Earth's magnetic field.
* Jon Van Zyle painted a beautiful picture of a songbird in the May scene of Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights. The species is not named in the text. Can you identify this bird and email me its name?
