With winter storm Jonas bearing down on the Mid-Atlantic, today is a gorgeous snowy pick.
TITLE: ARCTIC WHITE
Author: Danna Smith
Illustrator: Lee White
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, 2016
FICTION
Intended age: 4-8
Themes: Arctic, Auroras
First lines: "When you live in the Arctic in winter, everything is a shade of white."
Synopsis: A young girl looks around her Arctic home, wondering where all the color has gone until her grandfather takes her out to see a nighttime surprise.
Why I like this Book:
The first thing I like is quirky--but I loved looking under the dust jacket to see a different illustration! For me, it's like finding a hidden gift. And it's one of my favorites from inside the book, showing the girl and her dog.
The lyrical language and subtly shaded art in the book is lovely! It's a book to read slowly, thinking about the text before turning the page. "The blue-white of the tundra. The yellow-white of the polar bear."
When we lived overseas, my family was fortunate to visit Father Christmas in Saariselka, Finland, and see the northern lights. This book brings back memories. Daylight only lasted an hour or so, but despite a perpetual darkness the landscape gleamed in white.
I read a few reviews of this title which wanted more specificity of place and cultural identity, but I didn't miss that. At first, I found the second person point of view a bit distancing, but that faded as I got into the story and overall I think it's a beautiful book about a part of the world and a natural phenomenon many people may not get to see firsthand. This book is a much warmer way to experience the Arctic!
- MacMillan provides a slideshow of interior book spreads to view.
- The author's book trailer here.
- Get a stack of paint chips from the hardware store. Sort them into shades of colors (make sure you select some that are mid-tones, blue-y greens, green-y blues etc)
- Make a snow globe. What color glitter do you select? Why?
- See how one 2d grade classroom recreated northern lights on their ceiling.
- For older readers, learn from The University of Oslo how the northern lights are created.
- At the time I selected the book, I didn't remember that I had reviewed another book by this author (I am TERRIBLE with names). Compare this book to MOTHER GOOSE'S PAJAMA PARTY.
- Watch the video of the northern lights made by Maciej Winiarczyk (embedded above) and enjoy!
This review is part of PPBF (Perfect Picture Book Friday) where bloggers share great picture books. Organized and curated by author Susanna Leonard Hill, she keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. #PPBF
