From 1912 - 1959 the U.S. flag had 48 stars. From 1960 (officially July 4) to the present day the U.S. flag has 50 stars. For that one year (July 4, 1959 to July 3, 1960) the official U.S. flag had 49 stars. I wonder how many still exist?

I remember singing a song in elementary school about "Alaska and Hawaii, we welcome both of you" (No one else does, however, so I'm now thinking our music teacher wrote something special for an assembly).

When I heard a snippet of a story about the Alaskan flag, I went looking for more information and found Benny's Flag, by Phyllis Krasilovsky and illustrations by Jim Fowler. It starts with an Aleut boy named Benny Benson who lived in Chignik in a time when Alaska was still a territory. It was announced in school that there was a competition to design a flag. Benny thought he had a nice design ... and as it turns out, others thought so too since his idea won. Now, this can't be a spoiler, since we've all seen that flag, however, I won't explain what his design means. ;-)

As a casual (very casual) dresser, the title Fashion Means Your Fur Hat is Dead: a Guide to Good Manners and Social Survival in Alaska, by Mike Doogan and illustrated by Dee Boyles made me chuckle. If you want to know how to behave in Alaska, this is the book for you! Be sure to check out Chapter 9 and celebrating holidays. July 4th fireworks, for example .... ;-)

For a silly, whimsical, tall-tale sort of history of Alaska, Mark Wheeler's Half-Baked Alaska is the best choice. He pretty much covers everything someone from the 'outside' would need to know before traveling to our northernmost state. Mark was also a water-color artist and his work is beautiful. He graduated from a local high school in 1961 where he once painted the drum heads for the bass drums used in the marching band. Sadly, he died in 2010.

Planning on moving to Alaska? Then The Frozen Toe Guide to Real Alaskan Livin': Learn How to Survive Moose Attacks, Endless Winters & Life Without Indoor Plumbing, by Brookelyn Bellinger is the book for you. Full of helpful hints and strategies along with locations of hardware stores, food unique to Alaska, dates and locations of races, festivals and so forth this would be a most useful book. And even if you are not moving to our 49th State, it was still a fun read. (Why is there a town named Chicken, for example). :-)

For laughing out loud, try Moose Dropping & Other Crimes Against Nature: Funny Stories from Alaska, by Tom Brennan. There are funny stories about both natives and tourists, the government, bush pilots and wildlife (and more). Learn all about moose dropping! (No, an actual moose is not dropped ... think about it for a moment). ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog