Monday, March 30, 2009

Book Review: Two More Books about Polar Biomes

The two year celebration of research, discovery, and social studies of the globe’s Polar Regions comes to a close. International Polar Year 2007-2009 ends March 31st. Educators and Research teams from the around the world ramped up efforts to learn as much as we can about the ends of the earth before they are changed forever by climate change.
This will be my final book review dedicated to IPY.

Title: Scary Creatures of the Arctic
Author: Penny Clarke
Publisher: Scholastic


The Arctic is a very cold and windy place, but it is teeming with life. For thousands of years the plants, animals, and people have managed to get what they need from this harsh climate by paying attention to the patterns. Presenting a combination of photographs and illustrations the book shows us arctic landscapes, wildlife, and the people who live on top of the world and how they survive. This is a perfect introductory ecology book about this biome for third-fifth graders.

Title: Ookpik: The Travels of a Snowy Owl
Author: Bruce Hiscock
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press

The author recounts the life and aim to survive of an Ookpik, the Inuit word for snowy owl. This hardy species of owl lives all-year in the Arctic, hunting in open areas and in day light. But if food resources become limited they are known to migrate some seasons. They fly south to Canada and New England. This is the story of an ookpik who spent a winter in the Adirondack Mountains of upper state New York. Much to the delight of bird watchers, that owl spent the winter in a local town and farming community reaping the benefits of abundant mice, voles, hares, and small birds. It is a delightful book with beautiful watercolor illustrations.

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