Poles Apart: Why Penguins and Polar Bears Will Never Be Neighbors ANNOTATION
Santa Claus frolicking with penguins and polar bears--do you know what's wrong with this picture? Actually, no penguin has ever lived at the North Pole, nor any polar bear at the South Pole. Using a wide range of disciplines from physics to geography to biology, award-winning science writer Elaine Scott explores some of the unique properties shared by the two ends of the Earth's axis, and other ways in which they are poles apart. Find out what makes a compass point north and why it won't work at the poles. Discover how a tropical island wound up as the coldest spot on earth and why only penguins survive there today. And learn the fascinating story of human involvement with the poles, from the early explorers to the impact of global warming. With dramatic color photographs and clear, simple text, Poles Apart offers the perfect introduction to the secrets of the poles.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Santa Claus frolicking with penguins and polar bears—do you knowwhat's wrong with this picture? Actually, no penguin has ever lived at the North Pole, nor any polar bear at the South Pole.
Using a wide range of disciplines from physics to geography to biology, award- winning science writer Elaine Scott explores some of the unique properties shared by the two ends of the Earth's axis, and other ways in which they are poles apart. Find out what makes a compass point north and why it won't work at the poles. Discover how a tropical island wound up as the coldest spot on earth and why only penguins survive there today. And learn the fascinating story of human involvement with the poles, from the early explorers to the impact of global warming.
With dramatic color photographs and clear, simple text, Poles Apart offers the perfect introduction to the secrets of the poles.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Naomi Butler
They live poles apart—penguins only near the South Pole and polar bears only near the North Pole. These two remote and mysterious places at the opposite ends of the earth have fascinated people for centuries. The author shares their rich history and their scientific importance. Human involvement with the poles is fascinating as people search for answers about the earth's magnetic field, the drift of continents and changes in climate. There is lots of scientific information about the earth and the poles but also a chapter about the Inuit people, sometimes called Eskimos. Along with chapters about the penguins and the polar bears, there is the long history of the Arctic featuring the Greeks, Polynesians and Europeans and who was the first to claim the Poles. "The Poles Today: Lessons from the Ice" brings the information up-to-date. This book is a fine addition to any school or public library as well as a purchase for the avid reader on the subject. 2004, Viking, Ages 10 to 17.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-7-This slender, handsome book presents the literal ends of the Earth (if a globular mass can be said to have ends). From the peregrinations of Antarctica as it drifted away from Gondwanaland to descriptions of the magnetic poles, from penguins to polar bears, Scott provides an attractive window on the disparities of two cold places. She includes Pythagoras the Greek through James Cook, Roald Amundsen, and Robert Peary to give readers glimpses of the rigors of polar exploration. A section on current scientific research describes how that exploration continues today. Strategically placed color or archival black-and-white photos and reproductions enhance the engaging, informative text. An extensive list of Web sites and a good list of further reading titles are provided. Highlighting some of those choices, or others such as Meredith Hooper's fine Antarctic Journal (National Geographic, 2001) round out an informed vision of two inhospitable habitats.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Mid-level readers still a bit hazy on what our planet's poles, both geographic and magnetic, are all about will benefit from Scott's painstaking review of their nature, origins, differences, and human discovery. Along with explanations of rotation, orbits, seasons, magnetism, auroras, continental drift, and a plethora of related topics, she contrasts the climates and wildlife of the Arctic and Antarctic, chronicles the arrival of Inuit and Norse settlers, as well as the exploits of explorers from Captain Cook to Roald Amundsen. She closes with a glimpse of modern research and a discussion of the likely effects of global warming. She does miss a few things, such as the Antarctic's microbial community and evidence that the Earth's magnetic poles occasionally switch places. Still, this wide-angled survey, enhanced by plenty of bright color photos and graphics, makes a sturdy overview to accompany the more narrowly focused work of Jennifer Owens Dewey's Antarctic Journal (2001) or Carmen Bredeson's After the Last Dog Died (2003). (index, bibliography, web sites) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
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