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Summary
Summary
Luminously illustrated by Mary GrandPre, a timeless adventure from master storyteller Phyllis Root about the loss of the sun -- and one girl's brave quest to find it
In a cozy cabin high in the mountains of the Far North, Lucia and her family live a snug and contented life. But one day the wind screams fiercely and the sun does not rise over the mountain. Someone has stolen the sun "Perhaps it has lost its way," says Lucia, who despite her mother's pleas sets out to find it with only a bit of bread, a tinderbox, and her milk-white cat to keep her company. In dramatic pastels, Mary GrandPre illuminates troll-pocked frozen mountains and wraps Lucia's family in a blanket of warmth. Inspired by Nordic lore, Phyllis Root spins a golden yarn of courage, love, and the age-old longing for the return of light.
Author Notes
Phllis Root is the author of over forty books, almost all of them picture books, both fiction and non-fiction. Her middle grade novel, Lilly and the Pirates, is currently under contract. Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble won the Minnesota Book Award, and Big Momma Makes the World won the Boston Globe Horn Book Award. Root was awarded a 2006 McKnight Fellowship for her book, Lucia and the Light. She has taught at the Loft, in the Complete and Practical Scholar program at the University of Minnesota, and in Vermont College's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Lucia, her mother, and baby brother live in a small isolated cabin in the Far North. As the snows mount and the winds howl around their tiny home, their food supplies dwindle. One morning, the sun does not rise. Darkness envelops Lucia's world and when the cow stops giving milk, the brave child decides to go out into the world and bring the sun home again. She skis and trudges on in spite of adversity and fear and faces the terrible trolls. Of course, Lucia succeeds, returning home to her mother's love and a beautiful light-dappled world. This heartwarming adventure will delight girls and boys with its terrifying trolls and triumphant travails. GrandPr? illuminates the tale with soft, fluid multihued paintings that vividly convey both danger and sunlight-filled safety and warmth. This fablelike story is a wonderful companion to Mordicai Gerstein's Carolinda Clatter! (Roaring Brook, 2005) and perhaps a favorite version of "Jack and the Beanstalk."-Tamara E. Richman, Somerset County Library System, Bridgewater, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Root (Big Momma Makes the World) draws deftly from Nordic folklore to shape this tidy tale set high in the mountains of the Far North, where Lucia lives in a cozy cabin with her mother, baby brother, "velvet-brown cow" and "milk-white cat." One fierce, windy winter, the sun fails to rise over the mountaintop for days on end; in the dark cabin, the baby begins to "fret and fuss," the cow stops giving milk and the "fire smoked and shivered and refused to heat the corners of the house or bake the bread." GrandePr? (Sweep Dreams) paints the shadows stretching eerily along the cabin's walls, yet still maintains the warm bonds of the small family. Against her mother's wishes, Lucia and her cat set out in the darkness to climb the mountain where the sun once rose. When they finally reach the peak, Lucia encounters fearsome-looking, hungry trolls who tell her they have hidden the sun away and that they intend to eat her. The brave lass tries to distract them, but it is the quick-thinking feline who manages to unravel the sun's wrappings. As the light washes over the mountainous terrain, the palette of GrandePr?'s incandescent pastel art changes dramatically. Shades of gray and blue give way to brilliant, warm hues. Lucia's triumphant homecoming brings this winter adventure to a sunny close. Ages 5-8. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In this absorbing tale, Lucia bravely searches for the sun, which has disappeared from the winter sky. With the help of her cat, she takes the light back from the dangerous dark-loving trolls who have hidden it away. GrandPrT's dramatic pastel compositions, dimly lit at the beginning, provide a gratifying burst of yellow and pink as the sun breaks free. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
In Root's original pourquois tale, Lucia skis up a mountain to find the sun that has abandoned her wintry land. Accompanied by the family's clever "milk-white cat," she's menaced by giant trolls, who've hidden the sleeping sun to prevent its light from impeding their nonstop gorging. They taunt Lucia with a game of keep-away, using the rag-wrapped ball they claim is the sun. Lucia tries fooling them into thinking she's got the sun by igniting moss in the tinderbox she brought--but the marauders are nonplussed. Before they can eat Lucia and "the pussums," the cat bats the orb, which, losing its wrappings, rolls "right off the edge of the mountaintop and up into the sky, growing bigger and brighter as it climbed." Root's smooth, folkloric narration suits the story, but allowing the cat the glory renders Lucia less heroic. GrandPr's charming full-bleed pastel illustrations effectively use perspective and color to show small Lucia's pluck in taking on both the harsh landscape and the trolls. In all, a sturdy, satisfying venture. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Lucia has always loved the cozy mountain cabin that she shares with her mother, baby brother, a cow, and a milk-white cat. Then comes a winter when the sun disappears altogether. Mama is loving and reassuring: We will be each other's sun until the real sun returns. But brave Lucia is determined to restore daylight, and with her cat tucked into her parka, she sets off on her skis. Grandpre's evocative, dimly lit acrylics capture the eerie mystery and shivery suspense of the adventure, as Lucia treks through spooky, starlit forests and finally finds the sun, held hostage by a band of deliciously gruesome trolls. Root's rich language and well-paced story are sure to capture a young crowd of eager listeners, and children will connect with the messages about friendship and cooperation; as intrepid as Lucia is, she still needs the help of her white cat to carry out her quest and return safely home. A final note extends the story's pourquoi-tale elements by suggesting that Lucia's battle is an annual event: each winter, the days will only lengthen after a courageous person has battled the trolls and reclaimed the sun. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2006 Booklist
