Reading Nook: Explore Alaska

Even though spring has sprung here in Michigan, it still feels like winter. In fact, our Friday forecast calls for a high in the 40s, which is the same as the outlook for our distant northwesterly state of Alaska.

Whether that speaks highly of the climate in Alaska or poorly of the weather in Michigan is unclear. But let's be honest, most of us think of the vast state as a frigid wasteland filled with snow.

Not so, says Alaska's state website, which aims to dispel just such myths: "Weather is the No. 1 misconception. Over a third of all vacation/pleasure visitors found the weather better than expected. During the summer, average daytime temperatures throughout the state range from the 60s to the 90s."

So, in the spirit of education, Director Anne Hage has offered a list of books that celebrate the United States' purchase of Alaska 144 years ago this week.

The land was purchased for $7.2 million in gold, according to the Alaska Historical Society, which notes that Alaska officially became the 49th state in 1959.

If you'd like to learn more, pick up a book and explore!

Adult books

• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon, 2007: Detective Meyer Landsman investigates the killing of a former chess prodigy, but word comes down that the case must be dropped immediately in this fictitious tale set in Alaska.
• Village of the Ghost Bears by Stan Jones, 2009: When the Chukchi recreation center in northern Alaska burns down, killing eight people, it looks like arson. Did someone want Chief Silver dead?

Children’s books

• L is for Last Frontier by Carol L. Crane, 2002: An alphabet book shows the fauna and flora, people and geography of Alaska.
• The Eye of the Needle by Teri Sloat, 1990: Amik is sent to find food, but he eats what he catches. When he returns home, his hands are empty, but his belly’s full. The only thing that can help him is his grandmother’s wisdom and magic from her needle.
• The Children’s War by Theodore Taylor, 1971: In 1942, two American paratroopers are sent into Alaska to investigate reports of Japanese insurgence during World War II. One is killed, but the other completes the mission with the help of Dory, a 12-year-old boy.