Snow and Shadows

Despite the frigid temperature and wind chill, the sun and moon have made wonderful shadows on the snow. Reading in the library this afternoon, I remembered how much I love the shadows in the illustrations Kevin Hawked created for Kathryn Lasky's book MARVEN OF THE GREAT NORTH WOODS. The cover and several interior spreads feature young Marven and lumberjacks cross country skiing in Minnesota's north woods. Those lumberjacks look enormous! The shadows against the wall of Marven's Duluth home loom large as well as the boy overhears his parents' conversation concerning his well-being. They have decided to send him out of the city due to the influenza epidemic; he will be a ten-year-old boy in a logging camp! The shadows on the board and log walls of the camp convey his anxiety, his bravery, and the lumberjacks' spirited lives. The best part of the book, however, is the relationship that grows between Marven and lumberjack Jean Louis.