Aurora: A Tale of the Northern Lights

by Mindy Dwyer

Early one morning in a long ago northern land, a baby girl was born. Her mother named her Aurora, which means the “rosy light of dawn". . . Winner, 2021 Northern Lights Book Award, "Time-Honored" category "Not every child has seen the northern lights, of course, but even those who only have heard of them may be interested in this colorful book. The legend is pleasant, and Dwyer's brilliant watercolors bring it to life."
— Parade Magazine "This fanciful exploration of the origins of the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights, is a scrumptious delight!"
— Publishers Weekly In Aurora , storyteller and artist Mindy Dwyer shares a magical tale about a young girl whose dreams lead her to a great discovery, her own courage and the spectacular northern lights. Through her bright, luminous illustrations and text, this origin story about the glorious northern lights is magically portrayed to young readers and makes the perfect bedtime story. Mindy Dwyer is author and/or illustrator of many books, including Treasure and Chia and the Fox Man .

Genres: Picture Books, Mythology, Art, Fiction, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Emma Manthey]

Aurora: A tale of the Northern Lights is a great children’s book. It is about a girl that goings on a journey to make the northern lights. The tale is not an original Alaska Native story, which is why I didn’t give it all 5 stars. However it is still good for students to see a native girl in a story. The art work is also beautiful. All of the different colors of the northern lights, it could lead to a fun art project.There are not many stories about Alaska Native and so this book is great to have in a classroom. It can be used as a starter book when learning about the Northern Lights, like maybe in a science unit. I think that every student can benefit from reading this book. It would be good for a read aloud for Kindergarten to about 6th grade, and students could problem read it themselves at around 2nd grade.

[Jim]

six star book

There is an illustration of the title character dancing w/a caribou in the night sky that is worth the cost of the book.

wow, not even a near perfect book.

[Joy]

This story is about a young girl who lives in the north; the land of the midnight sun. The sun never goes down. She goes on an adventure to discover the darkness that her grandma talks about. She chases a caribou and doesn't realize how far way from home she is. She collects the colors of the sky to make her feel better and not think about it. When she finally finds the land of darkness, she releases the colors from her pockets to make it lighter. This is a tale of the northern lights.

I loved this story because it talks about my home and I love to watch the northern lights dance in the night sky when it is a little chilly outside.

I would use this in my classroom the night after we first see the northern lights to share a fun little story with my students.

[Tinika]

The Northern Lights have always inspired stories and that is what Mindy Dwyer has done here. She has made up her own story in the form of a legend. It is a story of wonder and beauty and the illustrations will entice many a young child to want to read it for themselves. As a teacher, I can see using Aurora: a Tale of the Northern Lights to introduce a science unit on the night sky or an art lesson on colour.

[Shelli]

The bright illustrations and around-the-campfire feel story does a lovely job of capturing the long passed down oration of the formation of the Northern Lights. This would be a wonderful read aloud when covering astronomy or just for fun.

[Teri]

Good jumping off story if you're looking for something to introduce discussion of an arctic theme or northern lights.

[Anna]

I mistakenly thought this was going to be an Inuit legend, but instead it's just a recent made-up fantasy story. Some nice art, though

[Roben]

Explaining the magic of the Northern Lights is difficult! It is easy to imagine all the different stories that arose in mythology to explain why the lights happen and what they mean. Even now, while there is science to explain why the lights occur there is still a lot of mystery that surrounds them and they are capricious and challenging to predict.
This book focuses on a made up story of a young girl named Aurora and how she created the lights. At the back of the book, there is some factual information about the lights, the tundra, caribou and other elements of the story.
This is a fun book to read after experiencing the lights are while waiting for them to make an appearance.

[Lacey]

Aurora is a girl who dreams to see the sky when it changes into dark. She takes a journey with a caribou and loses her way. Even though she is lost she captures the colors of the sky to comfort her, which turns into how the northern lights are made.

This is story tells about how Aurora was courageous and what she discovered not only in her self but also in the sky. It is a simple story that is described more as a folklore, but gives facts about the Arctic tundra in the end.

I think this book would be appreciated by any kids who love reading a story and learning the facts.

[Norah Baron]

The story and pictures were just okay. I wish it had been a real story or tied to a real story. The illustrations were okay but I just feel like it could have been so much more.

[Jessica]

Lovely story - will go well with The Lights That Dance in the Night.

[Villain E]

A lovely colorful fable of a girl who literally puts color in her pocket and brings light to the darkness.