USBBY OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL BOOK
"[A] wonderful and touching story" -- New York Time Book Review
"A breath of warmth from the far north"-- Kirkus Reviews
Susan and her sister, Rebecca, love watching their mother write letters
to people in other camps. Their mother has one precious pencil, and she
keeps it safe in her box for special things. One afternoon, their mother
leaves the iglu to help a neighbour, and Susan, Rebecca, and their
brother Peter are left with their father. They play all their regular
games but are soon out of things to do--until their father brings out
the pencil! As Susan draws and draws, the pencil grows shorter and
shorter. What will their mother think when she comes home? Based on
author Susan Avingaq's childhood memories of growing up in an iglu, this
charming story introduces young readers to the idea of using things
wisely.