Paying poetic tribute to the aurora borealis, Esbensen and Davie (Echoes for the Eye, 1996) invoke the legends with which
northern peoples have wreathed it.
"We look up / and the sky begins to move" in a whirling dance of moccasined spirits, the struggles of giant white geese
trapped in ice, flaring fire arrows. "The breath of ghostly Hungarian horses," the Sky-Fox’s glowing tail, and other images are
all given star-dappled embodiment in Davie’s sweeping painted skies. Esbensen properly notes her sources and expands on her
theme with an appended account of the aurora’s scientific origin, plus a tally of forms and colors it can adopt. Science, poetry,
legend, and ghostly, dramatic visuals combine seamlessly in this evocative tribute to a natural wonder. (Picture book poetry.
