“Stories of the Aurora” by Joan Marie Galat

STORIES OF THE AURORA

Joan Marie Galat
Whitecap Books Ltd. (2016)
ISBN 9781770502109
Reviewed by Willow Cramer (age 7) for Reader Views Kids (5/17)

“Stories of the Aurora” by Joan Marie Galat explains what an aurora is, the science of the aurora, and then lots of stories about legends from around the world about auroras.

I did like the legends in the book, especially the legend about Eos, and how she fell in love with the handsomest young man, and asked Zeus to give him eternal life so that they could be together always. The problem was she didn’t ask him for eternal youth and eventually he grew so old that he turned into a cricket.

I did learn that an Aurora is some glowing lights in the sky. I remember my daddy read to me what caused an aurora but I don’t remember it now.

I have to admit, when I got this book, I expected a book about Princess Aurora from Disney. I thought it would be about Sleeping Beauty.

I would recommend this book to little boys who would enjoy it. I don’t think little girls would like it. I do think little girls would like the story about Eos, though. That was a cool story.

 A Note from Dad:

I think that “Stories of the Aurora” by Joan Marie Galat has a lot of great features—I really enjoyed the sections that explored what an aurora is and how different cultures each understood the aurora. While I was reading this to my daughter, she seemed to enjoy each of the myths, though she got antsy with some of the science sections. I recommend breaking these sections down more and perhaps adding some activities that will further demonstrate the science of the aurora in a real way (especially since we live in a place where an aurora is not likely to appear.)