Tonight, in the northern hemisphere, is the longest night of the year. Especially in those places where winter has gripped the world, the light seems a long time coming – but this is the tipping point. From now on, the day-time will be imperceptibly longer. So Marion Dane Bauer and Ted Lewin‘s evocation of a forest world longing for the sun, The Longest Night (Holiday House, 2009), is a perfect bedtime read to snuggle up with at this time of year – and would be a lovely way to introduce the notion of long, cold winter’s nights in those parts of the world that don’t see snow!

While some forest creatures sleep through the winter, those still roaming seek to bring back the sun. The “night-dark” crow, the “mighty” moose and the “clever” fox all believe they are the ones who can do it – but the wind knows otherwise and tells them, to their disgust, that the little chickadee is the only one who can. The chickadee herself finds it hard to believe but she does the only thing she knows how. She sings and sings and wakes the sun: and the longest night is over.

The writing is full of onomatopeia and pleasing wordplay so children will soon know the story off by heart and still want to listen to it again and again: and that will be just fine because the illustrations, as well as the gentle, lilting poetry, are simply stunning! There are wonderful close-ups of the animals, as well as chilly landscapes – the deep, dark blue of the sky reflected in the slightly blue tinge to the snow – then suddenly, at the end, the blaze of light through the trees. Ted Lewin has created an utter feast for the eyes – and I just want to put that cover illustration on my wall and drink it in!

Do read this conversation with Marion and Ted about the book’s creation; and this interview with Marion. KidsLit and TTLG have also reviewed The Longest Night - and TTLG also profiles a non-fiction book called The Winter Solstice that sounds interesting…

A few postings ago, I wrote about books about winter in Canada. Today’s featured book is considered a Canadian classic. It depicts the life of a family of homesteading Mennonites in northern British Columbia. Mary of Mile 18 is set in the remote community of Mile 18, so named because of its location, eighteen miles off of a turn-off on the Alaska Highway. Author Ann Blades worked as a teacher for the children of this community a few years before the book’s publication in 1971. The beginning of the book sets the tone of the story:

It is a cold winter in northern British Columbia. At the Fehr farm snow has covered the ground since early November and it will not melt until May.

Little Mary Fehr is the oldest of five. It is through her eyes that the reader gets a glimpse of the harsh realities of homesteading in such a severe climate. There is no running water nor electricity in the Fehr house. Snow is brought in by pailfuls by the children to be melted for household water needs. The house is heated by a wood-burning stove and a barrel heater; both of which consume a lot of wood and keep the house just barely warm enough. The truck engine must be heated with a propane torch for an hour before it will start.

Despite these conditions, Mary is cheerful and sees beauty in her surroundings. One day she discovers an abandoned half-wolf pup near her house and wants to keep it. Her father however, is stern. “You know the rules. Our animals must work for us or give us food.” Mary is devastated. How could such a pitiful creature prove useful to the household? The rest of the story is about how Mary and her father come to terms about his rules and her desire. And it is the outcome that has made this story the classic that it is.

Winter can pack a wallop where I live in Canada.  Because it can be so severe, stories are often about survival.  The people who immigrate here learn to adjust to winter in often unique ways that contain traces of their origins and yet orient them to this climate.  In Thor, by W.D. Valgardson (illus. Ange Zhang,) we see an Icelandic Canadian boy go out with his grandfather who is a fisherman on Lake Winnipeg, to fetch fish from his nets.  It is the dead of winter.  “The snow was at the top of the fences, as high as the windows.  The snow was so cold it crunched under their feet like dried bread under Grandmother’s rolling pin.  Their breath made white clouds.”  Thor must wear two sets of clothing and a bushy, fur-lined hat with earflaps before they set out in his grandfather’s Bombardier.  While outside, Thor and his grandfather notice some snowmobilers driving recklessly over thin ice.  One of them falls in.  It is up to Thor to to rescue him.  Will he be able to do it?

In The Big Storm by Rhea Tregebov (illus. Maryann Kovalski,) we meet a Jewish girl named Jeanette and her cat, Kitty Doyle.   It is winter in north end Winnipeg.  On the day of a snow storm, Jeanette forgets about Kitty Doyle who comes to pick her up from school every day.  After school, Jeanette plays in the snow and goes over to her friend Polly’s for latkes.  At Polly’s, she suddenly remembers that Kitty has been waiting for her all this time.   She hurries out only to find Kitty huddled under the snow in an alleyway.  Is Jeanette too late?  Will Kitty Doyle survive?

Thor and The Big Storm are stories about winter where I live.   What about where you live?  What is winter like for you and your children?