The story is mostly about winter, even though it has a rather loose Christmas theme, because it celebrates the glory of nature and the beauty of peace and friendship. Tucker is a loveable little West Highland Terrier with two brothers. They are all adventurous pups, but Tucker seems to be just a tad more rambunctious. Her graphic design is simple and appealing, though her prose doesn t tell her story as effortlessly as her drawings do. A good effort for a first picture book.
Nothing says winter like the frozen tundra of the Arctic Circle, even when it s summertime there.
This Newbery Award-winning novel tells the story of a young Eskimo girl, Miyax, who becomes lost on the tundra when she escapes from an arranged marriage. She learns to survive with the help of a pack of wolves and the native lore passed down to her by her father. Miyax struggles with her identity as an Eskimo clinging to the old ways, which are keeping her alive, and with her Americanized identity, Julie, who values her freedom and independence. George has a way of painting delicate pictures with words. Schoenherr s simple pen and ink drawings support those words well, adding some necessary visual description to the story.