TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME: two Arctic novels for middle-grade and young-adult readers. This book contains the complete text of The Haunted Igloo (Houghton Mifflin, 1991) and its sequel Spirit Lights, both available in paperback and electronic versions for most e-reading devices.
BOOK 1: THE HAUNTED IGLOO
For someone afraid of the dark, living in the Arctic is a severe test of courage. There, the sun doesn't shine all winter. Jean-Paul, a young Canadian boy, struggles to hide his fear and adjust to life in the Northwest Territories, where he is taunted and excluded from activities by a group of Inuit boys because of his small size and a limp caused by a birth defect.
When Jean-Paul finally succeeds in impressing the boys with the tricks he's taught his husky, Sasha, they agree to let him join their club, the Ice Patrol. But as part of the initiation, they force him into a deserted igloo that is rumored to be haunted, where he must remain for two hours. The forced imprisonment, with no light and only Sasha for company, proves to be just the beginning of the most serious challenges to face Jean-Paul in the harsh Arctic environment.
Set in the 1930s, this novel is an exciting story of ordeal and courage, of friendship and loyalty. Readers will sympathize immediately with young Jean-Paul and will be charmed by Sasha, the beautiful husky puppy that steals everyone's heart. (Ages 8-12)
BOOK 2: SPIRIT LIGHTS
Returning to the Arctic after a two-year absence, twelve-year-old Jean-Paul has overcome his old fear of the dark, but discovers that his best Inuit friend, Chinook, is terrified of "spirit lights."
One frigid night, after searching by dogsled for a crashed plane, Jean-Paul hears tinkling sounds that seem to be coming from a brilliant aurora. Chinook and the Inuit girl Kunee say the spirits in the lights are speaking, warning of danger. But Jean-Paul knows auroras can’t talk!
Or can they?
Fans of Gary Paulsen, Scott O'Dell, and Jack London will enjoy reading about Inuit culture and building igloos. They will experience fear and danger when they open a sleepy polar bear's den with Jean-Paul and his Inuit friends, and will share a lonely, hazardous dogsled ride across the tundra and through the wilderness.
Two cultures meet in this coming-of-age novel for middle-grade readers ages 9 & up. Sequel to The Haunted Igloo, Spirit Lights is a must read before the exciting new teen / young-adult novel, DRUM DANCE. Pick up your copy now!
(And the author would appreciate your leaving a brief review.)
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