What's name of this book?

October 5, 2009 7:35 AM

In elementary school in the late '70s, my teacher read us a wonderful book about two young siblings spending a cold winter in Lapland. I think the title is "The Star of Akhbar," but I'm not sure since I can't seem to find it online. I would love to get this book for a friend's child. Please let me know if you know the real title. Many thanks in advance!
posted by lunachick to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

no idea, but Akhbar doesn't really sound like a name for Lapland. Perhaps "Aslak" or one of the other Norwegian, Finnish or better yet Sami names?
posted by acidic at 8:15 AM on October 5, 2009

Do you remember anything else about the book? Were the siblings brothers, sisters, brother & sister? Fiction or non-fiction? Any plot elements? Rough idea of what year the story was set in?

I've tried searching, but had little luck.
posted by fings at 7:10 PM on October 5, 2009

Response by poster: The book was translated into English, but I don't know the original language. The only thing I remember is the title had the word "Akbar" (or a similar spelling). It was about a brother and sister living with their dad in Lapland. The father was a scientist, I think. To entertain his kids, he told them a story about the star, which was brilliant and showed up only rarely. The book is pretty much the children waiting to see the star, wondering if it's real. I wish I remembered more. Thanks for helping me with my quest.
posted by lunachick at 2:50 AM on October 6, 2009

Response by poster: I forgot to add that it's fiction. I would guess it's set in the '60s or '70s, but hard to tell because the story seemed timeless. Thanks again.
posted by lunachick at 2:52 AM on October 6, 2009