This book teaches young children that other states have different weather patterns.
Source: DuPont Library
Age: 3 - 4 ( )

A girl's journey to wait for the midnight sun. Her brother, and mother falls alseep, but she doesn't. She dances under the midnight sun and then goes to sleep under it.

3-5
Pierce county

A young Alaskan girl, anxious to be up and about at midnight, on the day of the Summer Solstice, explores the natural world around her with her mother and younger brother, in Deb Vanasse's poetic picture-book, Under Alaska's Midnight Sun. Hiding in the grasses to observe the baby ducks, picking wild roses to make crowns, and witnessing a majestic bald eagle as it soars by, the girl and her family eventually make their way to the top of a hill, where they await the coming of a bright midnight...

One of those books that I like better in theory, than in practice, Under Alaska's Midnight Sun has a lot going for it: it's a celebration of the Summer Solstice (I wish there were more books about the four cardinal points of the solar year!), and has a cute concept (a little girl wants to stay up until midnight!) to which young readers will easily relate. Unfortunately, despite these undoubted virtues, I just didn't take the story to heart as I had expected to do, and the artwork didn't appeal to me. There's really nothing wrong with this book, but it just didn't speak to me. Still, children who are looking for stories about the Summer Solstice, or about Alaska in summer, will probably enjoy it, and might want to give it a try. ( )