Perishing Poles
Anita
Ganeri, Mike
Phillips (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 8 -
12
Paperback - 128 pages (15 March, 2002)
The latest offering in an
excellent series of books. These "Horrible Geography"
(along with other similar titles in other subjects) are rightly
popular with teachers and children alike. They offer a tremendous
amount of information, presented in a highly readable and eminently
entertaining way, whether you start at the beginning or just pick
them up and dip in somewhere. My own children love them, not least
because they're available at pocket money prices.
Synopsis:
Wave goodbye to boring geography lessons as you venture into the
chilly world of "Perishing Poles", with huge icebergs,
hungry polar bears and frostbite to challenge intrepid
explorers.
Shipwreck
at the Bottom of the World, The True Story of the Endurance Expedition Jennifer
Armstrong
Featuring 40 of expedition
photographer Frank Hurley's stunning photographs, this book vividly
retells the story of the Endurance for kids ages 12 and up. With many
excerpts from expedition diaries.
DK Eyewitness Guides:
Arctic and Antarctic Barbara
Taylor
Paperback - 64 pages (27 April, 1995)
The excellent "Eyewitness
Guides" series of books deliver information in an easily digestible
and lavishly illustrated ( =approachable and
entertaining) manner. As a teacher myself, I use these books
frequently with pupils and my own children. They are always
popular and amongst the most sought after if there are a number to
choose from.
This title in the series covers
the Arctic and Antarctic. It explains how plants, animals and
people survive in the cold, what they find to eat, and how they
live. Discover how to build an igloo, how husky dogs pull a
sled, and follow in the footsteps of the heroic explorers.
Imagine if you were given a grant by the National Science
Foundation to spend four months in Antarctica to sketch, take pictures,
and write home to friends and family. Antarctic Journal is the
record of Jennifer Owings Dewey's trek to the bottom of the world:
"a planet as remote as the moon in its own way," she writes.
Antarctica, home to 100 million penguins, has ice up to three miles
thick, covering 98 percent of the land.
The author writes her account of
this icy-cold adventure at Palmer Station in an accessible journal,
sprinkled with letters home and colored-pencil sketches and photographs
of various landscapes and Arctic creatures. Discussions of penguin
behavior are interrupted by the history of Gondwanaland and continental
drift, while snippets about trying to cook krill (the tiny phytoplankton
that blue whales eat) in garlic and butter add a comic and personal
touch to her adventure.
Descriptions of the "green flash" that
happens just before sunset, red tide, and a mirage effect called the
"fata morgana" (named after the fairy Morgan who built castles
in the air) are sure to intrigue and inspire young explorers. This is a
charming, personable introduction to a forbidding, fascinating
continent.
Draw Write Now, Book 4: The Polar Regions, Arctic,
Antarctic Marie Hablitzel, Kim
Stitzer
Beginning drawing and writing lessons for children ages five to
ten. BOOK 4 focuses on the Polar Regions -- Arctic and Antarctic. The
books are simple enough for a young child to do independently, but a
teacher or parent may present the lessons.
Each drawing lesson includes
a colorful picture and step-by-step instructions, while the writing
lesson includes four simple handwritten sentences. The teacher or parent
may introduce letter formation or have the children copy the sentences
for handwriting practice, or use the lessons as a springboard for
creative writing or report writing.
Developed by an elementary school
teacher and co-authored by her daughter. A brief list of the 21 lessons
in the book includes Blue Whale, auroras, Arctic people, polar bear,
igloo, tundra, wolf, penguin, krill and scientists.
One book in a series about different
continents. A good general book describing the basic elements of
Antarctica including its landscapes, geology, weather and climate, coastlines, air
and soil as well as its plants and animals.
From the icy waters of the Arctic to the snowy plains of the
Antarctic, this book looks at 12 different weird and wonderful
animals describing how they keep warm. It is one of a series on
animals that live in various habitats of the world. Each book
has a full-colour world map annotated to show where the animals
live and includes a list of "words to remember"
Antarctic Journal Meredith
Hooper, Lucia
De Leiris (Illustrator)
Paperback - 36 pages (4 October, 2001)
Child Education / Junior Education Best Books
Supplement, October 2001
'An excellent resource for introducing children to the genre of
nature diary writing...a great way to show how naturalists
observe and record.'
Packed with photographs, activities and topic webs, this book
follows the life of an emperor penguin chick as it takes its
first steps on a journey through life in Antarctica. It looks at
penguin life cycles, their natural habitat, the food chain and
the threats they face every day.
The Arctic and Antarctica are desolate places and only a few
animals are equipped to live there. This book takes a look at
hardy polar animals against the backdrop of their cold, windy
and hostile environments.
In the Arctic, fur-covered mammals such
as Arctic wolf and snowshoe hare, the polar bear and lemming
share their territories with the huge bowhead whale, the harp
seal and the snowy owl.
On the frozen continent of Antarctica,
brown skuas and storm petrels squabble over food, while
chinstrap and emperor penguins evade the fierce and predatory
leopard seal.
"...the vocabulary and writing style make them [The
Animal Watch series] appropriate for upper elementary through junior
high readers. They are attractive for browsing or general interest,
and for reports."
Profiles: Humpback whales; Bowheads and right whales; Grey
whales; Belugas and narwhals; Killer whales; Sperm whales;
Bottlenose whales; Pilot whales; Dolphins; Porpoises.
The secrets and wonders of the wild are revealed in our new
Animal Watch series. Here, a distinguished ecologist and gifted
natural history artist travel the globe to take readers into the
natural habitats of the world's most lovable and intriguing animals.
Filled with captivating, full-color artwork and photographs, each
book provides an in-depth look at a family of animals. Extensive
mapping allows readers to easily locate every habitat in which a
particular species can be found.
Shipwreck
at the Bottom of the World, The True Story of the Endurance Expedition
