Sunday, October 27, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Something to Tell the Grandcows by Eileen Spinelli

 Something to Tell the Grandcows by Eileen Spinelli is a historical fiction picture book written about a cow’s experience as part of Admiral Byrd’s 1933-35 expedition to Antarctica. The book does not provide much historical information other than being loosely based on the fact that Byrd did take cows with him. However, it does provide an interesting perspective of the cow experiencing the cold, 24 hours of sunlight in the Antarctic summer, and 24 hours of darkness in the Antarctic winter. This book is appropriate for grades K to 2. This can be a good book for engaging animal lovers into the topic of Antarctica, especially its climate.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Rescue in Antarctica by Emily Sohn

Rescue in Antarctica: An Isabel Soto Geography Adventure by Emily Sohn is a graphic novel appropriate for grades 3 to 5. This book is part science fiction with the main characters traveling through time and space through a portal. This book can also be partly considered contemporary realistic fiction because it is mainly about a rescue operation that is similar to how researchers may end up stranded and rescued in Antarctica today. This book is a good selection to introduce children interested in graphic novels to the topic of Antarctica. The book also provides a quick introduction to the concept of climate change and how it is affecting the continent.


Friday, October 25, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Tom Crean Ice Man, the Adventures of an Irish Antarctic Hero by Michael Smith

Tom Crean: Ice Man, the Adventures of an Irish Antarctic Hero by Michael Smith is a biography of Tom Crean. The book focuses on his experiences as part of three Antarctic expeditions during his career with the British Navy. This book is appropriate for grades 3 to 5. This book is a good biography that covers the life of an early Antarctic explorer that is not as well known individually as Scott or Shackleton, but was part of two of the most famous Antarctic expeditions (Scott’s 1910-1913 Terra Nova South Pole expedition and Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Endurance expedition). Being about a lesser-known explorer might make this book appealing to students that want to learn more about Antarctic explorers.

This book also provides an alternative perspective that other resources on the expeditions do not always cover, especially in regards to Crean not getting selected for the final push to the South Pole with Scott after getting within 150 miles and their return party almost facing death like Scott’s party did. The book may also be considered multicultural in that Crean was Irish and it discusses him not talking much about his polar experiences later in life because he felt it made him too connected to Britain in a time that Ireland was fighting for independence.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Penguin Book Review: Antarctic Antics A Book of Penguin Poems by Judy Sierra

Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems by Judy Sierra is a picture book featuring a variety of poems about Emperor penguins and their life in the Antarctic. This book is appropriate for grades K to 2. This book has painting style illustrations that rather realistically portray the penguins, the actions, and the feelings that the poems describe, such as penguins hatching and taking their first swim. The poetry makes it a great read aloud book that could also be used to inspire students to develop performances to act out the poems. The book may also be useful for helping open discussion about feelings children may also identify with such as doing something new like the penguins going swimming for the first time.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Ann and Liv Cross Antarctica: A Dream Come True! by Zoe Alderfer Ryan

Ann and Liv Cross Antarctica: A Dream Come True! by Zoe Alderfer Ryan book is a brief biography of the American Ann Bancroft and Norwegian Liv Arnesen’s experience of fulfilling their dream of crossing Antarctica, which was the first time women skied across the continent. This book is appropriate for grades K to 2. This book is an inspirational story about determination and following dreams. This book is unique for providing a perspective on female accomplishments in Antarctica, since the literature on Antarctic explorers is mostly about men.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Penguin Book Review: The Emperor Penguin's New Clothes by Janet Perlman

In The Emperor Penguin's New Clothes by Janet Perlman, penguins become the main characters in a modern twist on a classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. This is a picture book appropriate for grades K to 3. This book is a rare selection with an Antarctic theme that can somewhat fit the traditional literature genre. It is also a good selection for discussing topics such as fact vs. fiction (realistic penguins, but unrealistic clothing and setting), peer pressure (not wanting to be thought stupid for pointing out the new clothes are non-existent), and honesty (the young penguin telling the somewhat harsh truth about the clothes do not exist).

Monday, October 21, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Who Counts the Penguins? Working in Antarctica by Mary Meinking

Who Counts the Penguins? Working in Antarctica by Mary Meinking is an informational picture book for grades 2 to 4. This book provides an overview of different jobs in Antarctica including highlighting what different types of scientists do such as glaciologists studying climate history using ice core samples and astronomers studying the stars. This book gives students a general overview of what jobs there are in Antarctica as well as what different types of scientists research. This book also provides a good explanation of how planes and ships deliver people and goods to Antarctica.


Antarctic research iced even though U.S. government shutdown ended

October is when news stories about Antarctica tend to begin to pick up with the summer research season beginning.  As usual the number of stories in my Google news alert for Antarctica has increased this month, but most of it is not about the different research projects being undertaken this season.  Instead it has mostly been about the U.S. Antarctic bases being put into caretaker status and the start of the research season put on hold because of the U.S. government shutdown affecting funding for the National Science Foundation.

Now the government shutdown has ended, but since the window for setting up and beginning research is so small in Antarctica research cannot just be continued as usual.  While the Antarctic program is no longer in only caretaker status, the resources are not available in time for all originally planned research to be supported.  This leads to some research teams being told they have to wait until next year, which will affect some data of projects that are in the middle of multi-year research programs.  While it certainly affects the data and the people that arranged their lives to be in Antarctica for the research season, at least some of the U.S. Antarctic programs will get to happen this season.

Related Articles:

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: The Mystery in Icy Antarctica: The Frozen Continent by Carole Marsh

The Mystery in Icy Antarctica: The Frozen Continent by Carole Marsh is a contemporary realistic fiction book. In this book a girl age 10 and a boy age 7 visit McMurdo Station in Antarctica with their grandparents. This book is appropriate for grades 3 to 5. This book is good for drawing in young readers to learn a little about what life is like at a modern Antarctic research station from main characters that are around the same age as the target audience. The book is particularly good for reluctant readers or those just starting to read chapter books, as it has illustrations that can make the reading experience more fun. In particular, the use of sound words being done illustratively can add to the excitement and draw the reader’s attention more into the story, such as when the ice is cracking and an illustration says CRAACK! with crack lines around it (p. 5). This book also involves a mystery of disappearing penguins, which might help readers in grades 3 to 5 be “challenged to use their mental ability to seek solutions to problems” (Travers & Travers, 2008, p. 254). The built-in book club sections at the back of the book are also useful for encouraging thoughtful discussion of the book and learning more about Antarctica.


 
Travers, B. E., & Travers, J. F.  (2008). Children’s literature: A developmental perspective (1st ed.).  Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica by Sandra Markle

Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica by Sandra Markle is an informational and biographical picture book appropriate for grades 3 to 5. This book discusses the history of Robert Falcon Scott’s expeditions to Antarctica in the early 1900s with a focus on the animals he saw and used. Photo, sketches, and watercolors fill the pages to illustrate the animals and expeditions’ experiences.

Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica may be useful for engaging students with a naturalistic learning preference into the historical topic of Robert Falcon Scott and early exploration in Antarctica. Additionally, it is a good resource for both social studies and science curriculum use, as it is actually specifically designed to meet key concepts outlined by the National Council for the Social Studies and National Academy of Sciences (p. 6).


Friday, October 18, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica by Jonathan London

Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica by Jonathan London is an informational picture book that provides a brief story about an emperor penguin’s life from coming out of his egg to being a dad carrying the egg through the winter himself. This book provides K to 2 learners with an introduction to emperor penguins with text that is appropriate for their reading level and appealing realistic watercolor pictures that work with the text to enhance the story.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Antarctica Journey to the Pole by Peter Lerangis

Antarctica: Journey to the Pole by Peter Lerangis is a historical fiction novel for grades 4 to 5.  In this novel two teenage boys are among the crew for a 1909 American expedition led by their father. The expedition is attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole and features references to real Antarctic explorers such as Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

This book could be an interesting multicultural education literature selection, as it includes a main character that is Inuit briefly dealing with racism and a Greek dog handler that speaks broken English. Thus, this book might be something that English language learners may relate to.

The book also has content that could lead to discussions that are relevant to issues the students might be going through or relate to. For example, the two teenage boys are stepbrothers who have both lost their moms, so it could be useful for discussing loss. There are also some scenes of the younger boy being mocked, which could be used to spark discussion on bullying.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Menorah Under the Sea by Esther Susan Heller

Menorah Under the Sea by Esther Susan Heller is an informational picture book about a modern day marine ecologist celebrating Hanukkah by making a menorah out of sea urchins during a dive in Antarctica and later lighting a travel menorah to celebrate at McMurdo with other Jewish researchers. This is a good multicultural book for grades K to 2. This book also provides a brief introduction to diving in Antarctica and what questions researchers are trying to answer about sea urchins.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Here is Antarctica by Madeleine Dunphy

Here is Antarctica by Madeleine Dunphy is a poetic picture book that introduces how the animals and ice are interconnected in the Antarctic ecosystem. This book is appropriate for grades K to 2. This book is a good one for learners that enjoy repeating text, as it slowly adds a new line before it repeats the previously introduced lines. This feature also makes it a good book for early readers. This book was also selected for the 2010 Nautilus Book Award for Children’s Picture Books (Preschool-Grade 2).

Monday, October 14, 2013

Antarctic Book Review: Ice Wreck by Lucille Recht Penner

Ice Wreck by Lucille Recht Penner is an illustrated chapter book about Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. This book is appropriate for grades K to 2. This book is an easy read about Shackleton’s expedition for the lower grades as well as for reluctant or struggling readers. This book is also more visually appealing for those that want a more colorful representation of the expedition instead of just the historic black and white photos from the expedition (some of these are still included).

Antarctic Book Review: Can You Survive Antarctica? by Rachel Teresa Hanel

Can You Survive Antarctica?: An Interactive Survival Adventure by Rachel Teresa Hanel is a choose your own adventure style book.  It is both historical fiction and contemporary realistic fiction with options to be an adventurer in the race to the South Pole in 1911-12, part of the first team of women crossing Antarctica in the 1990s, or work with modern day researchers in Antarctica. The book contains historical and modern photos of the actual expeditions, animals, and bases, which can make the book more appealing for reluctant readers as well as visual learners. This book is appropriate for grades 3 to 5. This book is useful for helping students learn about survival in Antarctica, especially how it continues to be dangerous in modern times. It also also encourages critical thinking skills through allowing students to make choices about what to do next.

Antarctic Book Review: A for Antarctica by Jonathan Chester

A for Antarctica by Jonathan Chester is an informational picture book that features a few short blurbs about topics related to Antarctica that start with each letter of the alphabet. This book is appropriate for grades K to 2. Photographs accompany the topics making it visually engaging as well as help further understanding of what exactly the item is, such as the difference between what a regular compass looks like and a sun compass. While this book is slightly dated with its inclusion of dogs (now banned from the continent and book makes it seem they live there), it is still a good introduction to the continent with its coverage of animals, gear used, and research activities that go on in Antarctica. This book is useful for introducing learners to the continent in an appealing alphabet book format that might encourage them to learn more through other resources made available to them.