Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5. Impressive photographs back a smooth, nontechnical narrative that explains how icebergs and glaciers form and behave. (Mr 1 87)
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Perhaps Simon's nonfiction for children is so successful because he gets readers involved in the environment around them, with both arresting and accessible facts. In this new book, he tells readers that the largest glacier ever measured is 200 miles long and 60 miles across; but it's also ``bigger than the state of Vermont or the country of Belgium.'' And those glaciers move. Simon also covers how ice fields form and become mobile, and why they are dangerous. Readers who put icebergs and glaciers in the same category as dinosaursfrom a time long agolearn of the relatively recent tragedy of the Titanic, and that icebergs someday may be used as fresh water sources in deserts. The facts are coupled with clear, full-color photographs; the correlation between text and illustration is direct and obvious, making captions unnecessary. Simon suggests that readers take a look at landscapes around themthey may just see a place where a glacier has passed by. Ages 48. (March) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6 This treatment of glaciers and icebergs is beautifully illustrated, and the text is clear and well-written. Simon describes the physical composition and properties of glacial ice, including new findings of how glaciers move: either by sliding on films of water or by internal flows``creeping.'' He presents facts at a basic level, without much explanation or detail, and uses fairly simple vocabulary. Every spread is illustrated with beautiful color photographs, including one computer-colored photo of Iceland that shows temperature variations. Type is large, with lots of white space. In comparison, Tangborn's Glaciers (Crowell, 1965; o.p.) is illustrated with expository drawings, has a lower vocabulary level, and discusses mostly the effects of glaciers (rather than the process). The Nixons' Glaciers (Dodd, 1980) and Robin's Glaciers and Ice Sheets (Watts, 1984), which are for older readers, have much more information. This one would almost be worth adding to collections for the spectacular illustrations alone, but Simon's lively and informative text makes the book even more impressive. Jonathan Betz-Zall, Sno-Isle Regional Library System, Marysville, Wash. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Prolific author Simon has gathered 21 beautiful and fascinating photographs of ice fields, glaciers, and icebergs, linking them with a clear, straightforward text. Ten percent of the world's surface never thaws, and it is there that the vast sheets of ice we call glaciers are formed and flow, sometimes giving birth to icebergs that sail the oceans. Even very young readers may have their imaginations caught by the bright pictures of enormous blocks and rivers of ice; older readers could use a little more information on how it is that flesh (even clinically pure) water icebergs cohabit with salt seas, and why ice is more buoyant than water, but this book could be the reason they start to ask. A good addition to most libraries. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
