A Warmer World

January 9, 2012
Arnold explores global warming by focusing on how it directly affects several species and their habitats. Some animals, like Edith’s checkerspot butterfly, are forced to migrate north because temperatures in southern areas have become too warm for the plants that they require for survival. Polar bears have less time to hunt as a result of earlier spring melts, and walruses are left with fewer and fewer floating ice chunks to use as “platforms” while at sea. Hogan handsomely portrays the animals using charcoal pencil and pastel. Arnold doesn’t sugarcoat the potential effects of climate change, plainly stating that the “loss in biodiversity could be devastating.” Ages 7–10.

April 1, 2012

Gr 2-4-A warmer world is the new reality for many animals and plants, and how they are reacting to climbing temperatures is the focus of this short, informative work. Arnold looks at the devastating impact of melting ice on polar bears and at the broadening range of Edith's checkerspot butterflies, to name a couple of examples. The speed of this change is leaving many species unable to adapt, and as many as a million species are feared to face extinction. A few might actually benefit from a wider habitable range, but often at a cost to other species. Combining general information on rising seas, melting ice caps, and warmer water with specific emphasis on individual animals such as loggerhead turtles, marmots, penguins, and walruses, this book offers students the opportunity to examine a natural world in flux. The soft-focus pastel drawings and collages add to the sobriety of the message. Valuable for classroom discussions of the environment and the consequences of continued and unabated global warming.-Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly at Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2012
Grades 3-7 With clear explanations and bright, handsome collage artwork, this picture book packs in a lot about the effects of global warming on particular animals and the connections between them. Even small changes in temperature can produce big changes in animals' chances for survival, and up to one million species could be threatened with extinction as the planet heats up. As global temperatures rise, the warmer water is destroying coral reefs and many coral species are becoming extinct, while creatures at the highest zones have nowhere to go to find cooler places. Many yellow-bellied marmots, for example, have starved because they hibernate less in a warmer climate and cannot find the plants they normally eat. At the same time, some creatures do benefit because they can move to habitats that were previously too cold. The visual details bring the concepts close, from images of a butterfly in flight or the final view of an arctic fox with a factory belching black smoke in the background. A glossary and suggested resources conclude.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)