DREAM FLIGHTS ON ARCTIC NIGHTS

A child dreams of flying through the night sky over the Arctic region, seeing animals, fish, and birds as well as the northern lights.

The unnamed child narrates the first-person text in rhyming quatrains that lyrically describe the flight and everything seen and heard. The journey begins when a huge raven picks the child up from bed. The child floats through the starlit sky, seeing wolves, grizzly bears, eagles, and salmon. A puffin now joins the child, and they head farther north, past whales and sea lions. A snowy owl continues the journey, flying the child over the tundra, where they spot an arctic fox, a polar bear, and the dramatic display of the northern lights. The final illustration of the child back in bed, returned by the raven, holds several surprises: The child’s previously plain quilt is now decorated with all the creatures seen on the wondrous flight, the child holds a star, and the raven is flying off with the tassel of the child’s cap in its beak. The rhyming text is characterized by rich, evocative vocabulary and dramatic rhythm, matched by spectacular linocut illustrations with black backgrounds, glowing colors, and exaggerated perspectives that suggest a surreal dream world. The child has beige skin and dark hair and eyes. The setting is indicated by the title and arctic wildlife and by a simple map of the Arctic Ocean on the wall of the child’s cozy bedroom.

This stunning interpretation of a fascinating region soars with polished poetry and striking, memorable art.