Select Page

I have always been fascinated by the pictures of the Northern Lights, unfortunately we live too far south to see them.  A long planned trip to Iceland is however finally coming up and fingers crossed the sky will light up for us.

Our upcoming trip has prompted us to revisit an old favourite book – The Magic Sky by Lucy Richards.  A great book for a younger audience, it follows the story of a young polar bear named Rory who doesn’t want to go to sleep.  His mother promises him that soon they will stay up late to watch the magic sky.  Rory can think of nothing else and over the following days repeatedly asks “when will we see the magic sky?”.  At one point he even sets off to find it himself and has to be rescued by his mother.  Finally the time comes to see the magic sky and a sparkling multicoloured wonder of the Northern Lights is revealed.

I’ve read this with both my children since they were babies and even before they were talking they loved running their fingers over the sparkling sky in the climax.  The illustrations are quite simple but there are lots of little details that my kids loved seeking out.  The story has a nice rhythm and no matter however many times we have read it, the ending prompts satisfied sighs as fingers are run over the sparkling sky.  There is also a short factual explanation of the Northern Lights on the inside cover pages.

So if you are looking for a picture book to introduce the Northern Lights (or simply for a fun read), The Magic Sky is worth seeking out.