Stories of the Aurora

by Joan Marie Galat

Illustrated by Lorna Bennett

Whitecap Books

978-1-77050-210-9

68 pp.

Ages 9-13

November 2016

The magic light show that is the aurora–aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and aurora australis in the southern hemisphere–has delighted, terrified and perplexed cultures through the world for centuries.  In Stories of the Aurora, her fifth book in the astronomical non-fiction series Dot to Dot in the Sky, Joan Marie Galat provides both the science behind the phenomena and the stories of ancient cultures told to explain them.

In addition to her discussion of plasma, magnetic fields, solar winds and the ionosphere, Joan Marie Galat shares with readers where and when to look for auroras, and how to find them.  But, it’s Joan Marie Galat’s examination of the different links of the aurora stories to the spirit world, including as omens, dancing spirits or fires, and the six stories from various northern cultures that bring a new perspective to a well-explained sky phenomenon.

The Inuit believed that the aurora was associated with the spirits of the dead, perhaps playing a kicking game, and a representation of a level of heaven.  The Norse have a story, here titled Skirnir’s Journey, in which Frey marries the frost giant maiden Gerda and it is their union that brings the lights dancing above the earth. Another Norse legend has the lights produced by the armour and shields of the Valkyries as they race across the sky to do Odin’s bidding.  The Greeks believed that the glowing lights were as a result of the goddess of the dawn, Eos.  The Wabanaki/Algonquin legend The Rainbow Belt relates how a chief follows his often-absent son and enters the Land of the Northern Lights where his son and others don bands around the heads and their waists that shine and stream wild lights as they play a ball game.  Finally, in Land of Eternal Memory, the Mi’kmaq and French-Canadians tell of a young man touched by magic and his beloved fairy wife, saddened by a separation, who are taken to a place where no one forgets those for whom they care.  There they are transformed into the aurora, shaking when they look down upon the Land of Forgetfulness, dancing with the joy of their togetherness. 

Stories of the Aurora is an interesting take on a non-fiction topic, providing both the science and the fiction of the aurora.  While I might have modified the organization of the text and filtered the stories to emphasize the origin tales of the aurora, the book balances the two aspects equitably and provides plenty of information for discussion of the subject.  

If you're in Edmonton this weekend, do go to the book launch for Stories of the Aurora at Telus World of Science.  There's lots going on, including a rocket launch! Details here including where to register for this free event.

Stories of the Aurora: Book launch (Edmonton, AB)

Here's a book launch like no other!

Author Joan Marie Galat 

will be launching her fifth and newest title 

in her Dot to Dot in the Sky series

Stories of the Aurora

by Joan Marie Galat

Illustrated by Lorna Bennett

Whitecap Books

978-1-77050-210-9

68 pp.

Ages 9-13

November 2016

on Saturday, December 3, 2016

1:30 p.m.

at Telus World of Science

11211-142 St. NW

Edmonton, AB

In addition to a reading, book signing, entertainment, activities,  
refreshments and door prizes, there will be a rocket launch!

The book, Stories of the Aurora, explains why the northern lights occur; features folklore from the Inuit, Norse, Romans, Mi’kmaq, Wabanaki, and other peoples; and includes back cover comments from a Canadian astronaut, NASA scientist, and CBC's Bob McDonald.

The event is free 

but register at

  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/book-launch-dot-to-dot-in-the-sky-stories-of-the-aurora-tickets-28261098707

Painted Skies

by Carolyn Mallory

Illustrated by Amei Zhao

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-004-4

36 pp.

Ages 5-7

June 2015

In different parts of our country right now, Canadians are enduring record high temperatures and repressive fires, but Painted Skies will easily transport them to the cold of an Arctic October during which a new girl, Leslie, learns first-hand the wonder of the northern lights from her Inuit friend, Oolipika.

When the two girls go out to play in the evening snow, they bear witness to the wonder of colours dancing across the sky.  Oolipika teaches Leslie of the Inuit legend in which the lights are anirniit or spirits of those who've passed and now play a running game, chasing a ball of a walrus skull.  Moreover, Oolipika instructs Leslie how to safely keep the spirits away with noisy finger play.

Immersing her characters in the true Arctic experience, making their actions analogous to those of the caribou, ptarmigan, raven and snowy owl, Carolyn Mallory similarly embeds the reader in the cold and clear night of a snow-packed landscape and the consuming quiet of a northern evening.  Her text may recount how a seasoned Arctic resident shares the marvel of her world with a newcomer, including the telling of an Inuit tale, but her descriptions of the dancing lights bring the curiosity of the skyscape to life.

Sometimes green, sometimes red,
the night sky dances.
Stars peek through satin pink with
a wink and a flicker.
A wisp of yellow gauze
as the sky
breathes with light
Splashes of purple and silver-grey,
a sail, a sheet, a streak–
with one great gust, gone. (pg. 31)

I don't know much about artist Amei Zhao except that she works in visual development and production design for animation but Painted Skies demonstrates to me that she has a future in emotive illustration.  While the northern lights are a visually evocative inspiration no matter what the medium, Ameo Zhao finds it within herself to enrich that brilliance and meld it with the innocence of the girls and complement Carolyn Mallory's text so splendidly.  Painted Skies not only finds a way to demonstrate the richness of the northern lights but also convey the Inuit tale of its origins while tagging it all with an addendum about the science behind them.  It is a story worthy of ancient storytellers of the north and proudly of Inhabit Media.