This book was inspired by a family trip the author, Carole Gerber, took to Alaska with her family. The book is a story about an Eskimo mother saying goodnight to her son and tucking him in for the night. As she talks him to sleep she tells him to dream, describing images of the Arctic landscape and its many animals. The author uses descriptive imagery to describe the scenes and the animals one might encounter in the arctic throughout the seasons. Each dream has a large, bold, colorful, and realistic illustration portraying the different animals, the climate, and the landscape of the land. The text is rather song-like and even ends in "Aja, aja. Haja, haja" which the author describes in a note at the end as the common refrain of okalugtuat, or the ancient songs of some Eskimos who live in the Arctic.
This book is a good example of a quality piece of diverse literature. In assessing quality, the book uses vivid imagery and language in its description of the Arctic. The illustrations are realistic and the Eskimos are portrayed in a positive way. The illustrations show the characters in clothing that is not fully traditional but rather a mix of old and new. There are pattens on the clothing, fur on the boots and parkas but in other pictures the boy is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The little boy is also sleeping in a bed in a house instead of an igloo. I think that these illustrations are important in that they break certain stereotypes that young children may have about Inuit people such as that they all live in Igloos or that all Eskimos ride around in sleds led by a team of huskies. On the other hand, the illustrations do an excellent job incorporating Inuit culture and tradition in a positive way. The author also uses language to incorporate Inuit tradition using the words nanook, Aja, and Haja in the text without using double-talk.
The author is not an insider but would be considered an "informed" author. She was inspired to write this book from a family trip to Denali National Park in Alaska. The illustrator is also not an insider. Despite this fact I still feel that this is a quality piece of diverse literature. The author also makes a very important point in a paragraph at the end of the book that emphasizes the fact that there are many different Eskimo cultures each with their own language, name, and way of life and that this book is merely a portrayal of one. In this way she is not constraining all Inuit people to the life that she has portrayed in her book through her language and illustrations.
One of the major themes in this book which is reflected in all of the books I have read on this topic is the theme of connection to nature and animals. This book sends the message of appreciation of nature and respect and love for animals. The boy is shown in close proximity to the animals almost as if they are friends and companions. It is the dreams of the animals that eventually help him to fall asleep. This theme of animals is a popular and common theme in children's literature in general and therefore would be easy for students of all cultural backgrounds to connect to. Because the content of this story isn't specifically about Inuit people, it is more likely that more children would be able to connect more personally with the book. On the other hand, because of the illustrations and incorporation of the language this book has a lot to teach about the language, tradition, and culture of one group of Inuit people.
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