From School Library Journal
Grade 3-9-This book is based on a purely delightful concept-recording the changes in Arctic light from one summer solstice to the next. In Fairbanks, AK, Miller begins with the 21 hours and 49 minutes of daylight on June 21, then follows the light's diminution month by month to the winter solstice and its daylight of 3 hours and 43 minutes to its gradual swelling back to the summer solstice. Her brief 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: the migration of birds and caribou, the hibernation of bears, the changing coat of the Arctic hare. Wrapped about this unfamiliar (to many of us) swirl of seasons of light are Van Zyle's superb and quietly beautiful acrylic paintings, which capture both light and dark in perfect harmony with the text. A map of Alaska, an introductory note, and an excellent glossary are included. Team this bit of loveliness and imagination with Ellen Jackson's delightful quartet Summer Solstice (2001), Autumn Equinox (2000), Winter Solstice (1994), and Spring Solstice (2002, all Millbrook); encourage children to get out a calendar, pen, paper, thermometer, and clock and jubilantly record the radiant pattern of light in their own little corners of the world. A winner.Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Miller, a resident of Fairbanks, Alaska, explains the peculiarities of light and seasons near the Arctic Circle and briefly introduces some of the animals that live in the area. Text at the top of each page carries a date ("June 21," "July 21," and so on through a year); the hours of daylight; the time of sunrise and sunset; and the average temperatures. Below, a double-page painting shows a scene in the natural world, typically accompanied by one short paragraph commenting on what is happening and another discussing the length of day and night as well as natural phenomena, such as "sun dogs." The realistic paintings often focus on animals within a landscape. The book concludes with an unusually good glossary that describes phenomena and terms such as alpenglow, flat light, and vernal equinox. Useful for the classroom. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Imagine a land where the sun rises at 1:58 a.m. in the summer and shines for less than three hours on a winter's day! The animals in the wilderness near Fairbanks, Alaska, witness some of the world's greatest temperature extremes and light variations every year. At an average low of -12 degrees Fahrenheit, the winters may be unpleasantly frigid, but the light shows are always glorious. Acclaimed author Debbie S. Miller details the sunsets, twilight, alpenglow, diamond dust, and other quietly beautiful phenomena that color "the land of the midnight sun," describing how the moose, caribou, grizzly bear, black wolf, and other Arctic animals survive and thrive in both the warm and cold seasons. The dramatic changes in light are captured perfectly in Jon Van Zyle's striking illustrations.
Card catalog description
Describes the unique light phenomena of the Alaskan Arctic and the way animals adapt to the temperature and daylight changes each month of the year.
About the Author
Debbie S. Miller is the author of Walker & Company's The Great Serum Race, Are Trees Alive? and Disappearing Lake, which received an IRA-CBC Teachers' Choice Award, was named one of Bank Street College Children's "Books of the Year" and earned starred reviews in Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. Debbie lives with her family in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights ANNOTATION
Describes the unique light phenomena of the Alaskan Arctic and the way animals adapt to the temperature and daylight changes each month of the year.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Donna Freedman
Veteran children's author Miller (A Caribou Journey, A Polar Bear Journey, Disappearing Lake, among others) does many school visits in the Lower 48, and is always peppered with questions about what it's like to live in a place that's pitch-dark for half the year. The Fairbanks resident decided to dispel that mistaken impression once and for all by writing a book about alpenglow, "diamond dust," the aurora borealis, "sundogs" and other aspects of Arctic light. "It is never completely dark all day long," she writes, even in places like Barrow, and the light that does exist is "dynamic and beautiful." The author takes readers month-by-month through a typical year, to help them learn to appreciate each season. Illustrator Van Zyle's acrylic paintings are compelling images of moose, snowshoe hares, grizzlies, wolves, wilderness and, of course, snow. The artist, an acclaimed Alaska painter who's collaborated with Miller before, has a particularly nice touch with the blue, blue-gray and lavender hues of Alaska snow. (No, it ISN'T just white!) The writer and artist show a heartfelt reverence for their subject, and their combination of carefully chosen words and images will inspire the same kind of wonder in young readers. 2003, Walker & Company, Ages 4 up.
School Library Journal
Gr 3-9-This book is based on a purely delightful concept-recording the changes in Arctic light from one summer solstice to the next. In Fairbanks, AK, Miller begins with the 21 hours and 49 minutes of daylight on June 21, then follows the light's diminution month by month to the winter solstice and its daylight of 3 hours and 43 minutes to its gradual swelling back to the summer solstice. Her brief 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: the migration of birds and caribou, the hibernation of bears, the changing coat of the Arctic hare. Wrapped about this unfamiliar (to many of us) swirl of seasons of light are Van Zyle's superb and quietly beautiful acrylic paintings, which capture both light and dark in perfect harmony with the text. A map of Alaska, an introductory note, and an excellent glossary are included. Team this bit of loveliness and imagination with Ellen Jackson's delightful quartet Summer Solstice (2001), Autumn Equinox (2000), Winter Solstice (1994), and Spring Solstice (2002, all Millbrook); encourage children to get out a calendar, pen, paper, thermometer, and clock and jubilantly record the radiant pattern of light in their own little corners of the world. A winner.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
The rhythms of the arctic year play out on the pages of this quietly lovely picture book. Successive double-paged spreads describe, month by month, the radical changes in daylight and temperature as the year progresses from one summer solstice to the next. Each spread features one type of animal going through its seasonal activities; six months later, that same animal appears again, adapting to the changes. Miller's quiet, present-tense text simply describes the conditions, spending special attention on the effects of the shortening or lengthening of the day; a bar extends across the top of every page to indicate relative length of day and night, times of sunrise and sunset, and average high and low temperatures (in Fahrenheit). Van Zyle's acrylics are equally simple, employing a variety of perspectives and effects to show off the unique beauties of the arctic without sentiment. A lovely treatment of a difficult concept and of a very special place. (glossary) (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)
Art & Photography
Book Info
