Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth

From the author of the critically acclaimed The Boreal Forest, a stunning exploration of the animals that have adapted to survive in Earth’s harsh polar regions.

The Arctic and Antarctica, at opposite ends of the Earth, have much in common: bitter cold, ferocious winds and darkness lasting six months. Despite these harsh conditions, many animals have adapted to stay alive in the polar regions. This evocative and beautifully illustrated book from the award-winning team of author L. E. Carmichael and illustrator Byron Eggenschwiler explores how animals at opposite ends of the Earth survive using similar adaptations. There’s the arctic fox who is protected from the ice by the fur on the soles of her feet, the emperor penguins huddling in groups around their chicks to keep everyone warm, and the narwhal using echolocation to find a crack in the surface ice to breathe. It’s a fascinating journey through a year in the polar regions, where animals don’t just survive – they thrive!

Each spread in the book is devoted to a month and includes a themed introduction and two stories on opposites pages, one about an animal in the Arctic and one about an animal in Antarctica. Extra spreads cover topics such as seasons, winter weather and types of ice. The book concludes with a timely description of the disruptions that climate change is causing to the polar regions, and how this will have global consequences. A glossary, further reading, author’s sources, an index and ideas for what children can do to help are included. There are strong life science curriculum applications here in animal habitats and animal adaptation, migration, hibernation and cooperation.

Click here to download the free Teachers’ Guide from Kids Can Press.

Click here for Polar Presents: The Official Activity Guide and Other Free Resources Around the Web

Best Of Lists:

IndigoKids Christmas Gift Guide – 2023

Chicago Public Library – Best Informational Books for Older Readers 2023

Starred Selection in CCBC’s Best Books for Children and Teens (Fall 2023)

2024, OLA Best Bets Top Ten, Junior Nonfiction Category

2024 Green Earth Book Awards, Recommended Reading

The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World’s Largest Land Biome

The vast boreal forest spans a dozen countries in the northern regions like “a scarf around the neck of the world,” making it the planet’s largest land biome. Besides providing homes for a diversity of species, this spectacular forest is also vitally important to the planet: its trees clean our air, its wetlands clean our water and its existence plays an important role in slowing global climate change. In this beautifully written book, award-winning author L. E. Carmichael explores this special wilderness on a tour of the forest throughout the four seasons, from one country to another. Evocative watercolour and collage artwork by award-winning illustrator Josée Bisaillon provides a rare glimpse of one of the world’s most magnificent places.

With excellent STEM applications in earth science and life science, this enjoyable book aims to foster environmental awareness of and appreciation for this crucial forest and its interconnections with the entire planet. In a unique approach, the text features a lyrical fictional narrative describing the wildlife in a specific part of the forest, paired with informational sidebars to provide further understanding and context. Also included are a world map of the forest, infographics on the water cycle and the carbon cycle, a glossary, resources for further reading, author’s sources and an index. This book has been reviewed by experts and was written in consultation with Indigenous peoples who live in the boreal forest region.

Click here to download the free Teaching Guide for The Boreal Forest

Click here for The Great Big Boreal Forest Resource List, including a free downloadable activity guide.

Best Of Lists:

Bank Street College of Education – Best Books of the Year 2021, 9-12-years-old

Chicago Public Library – Best Informational Books for Older Readers of 2020

Ontario Library Association – Best Bets of 2020

American Library Association – Top 10 Sustainability-Themed Children’s Books 2021

Skipping Stones Honor Awards, 2021

Fox Talk: How Some Very Special Animals Helped Scientists Understand Communication

When you talk to a dog, does the dog talk back?

Many people think so. But for a long time, scientists didn’t know how our furry friends learned to communicate with people.

Luckily, Russian scientist Dmitri Belyaev had a plan. If he could tame wild red foxes, he could learn how dogs first came from wolves. By studying the way these foxes changed during domestication, the mystery of communication would be solved at a last.

More than 50 years after the experiment began, Belyaev’s foxes have become so tame, you can have one as a pet! Packed with eye-popping photos and first-hand research, Fox Talk reveals the story of these amazing animals… and everything they’ve taught us about wolves, dogs, and communication.

Note: Fox Talk has gone out of print, but used copies may still be available online.

Fuzzy Forensics: DNA Fingerprinting Gets Wild

A wild elk and her calf, held behind the fences of a Canadian game ranch. Endangered parrots captured in the wild and sold as pets.  African elephants butchered for the ivory in their tusks. In Fuzzy Forensics: DNA Fingerprinting Gets Wild, you’ll discover how witnesses, conservation officers, veterinarians, and scientists join forces to solve countless crimes against wildlife, all around the world.

Explore real cases that take you from the crime scene to the laboratory to the courtroom. See how scientists use DNA fingerprints to identify endangered species, match wild parents with their babies, or trace an animal victim’s home country. Become a wildlife detective by tackling four crime-busting experiments.

Containing vivid images, interviews with experts, and tons of hair-raising facts, Fuzzy Forensics will convince you that the only difference between solving human crimes and wildlife ones is the fur.

Note: Fuzzy Forensics has gone out of print, but used copies may still be available online.