Polar Region (Sow)

The inviting, full color photographs and a variety of paintings help readers discover where and what polar regions are and why they are important to the environment. But a busy page design¾lots of pictures, Q&A sidebars, maps, black headers and diagrams, and a narrow white space around the pages¾gives this text a cramped look. Life in the polar regions is followed by examples of good and bad use of the regions, and a section about what scientists and governments are doing to save the polar regions. Specialized vocabulary is used and defined in place without highlighting, a nice feature that makes the text more fluid. Twenty of these (taiga, krill, CFCs, permafrost, iceberg, greenhouse effect) are defined in a glossary. Endmatter includes addresses and web sites, a small review or search-and-find, an index. Throughout the book, the actions of ordinary people concerned about protecting this special environment are mentioned, giving the reader a sense that he or she might become actively concerned in some way, both now and in an adult life. Part of the "Saving Our World" series. 2001, Copper Beech, $21.90. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Susan Hepler


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