The Northern Circumpolar World

Brenda Reed is the curriculum and reference services librarian in the
Education Library, Queen’s University.

The first half of this attractively designed and well-organized book
takes the reader on a journey around the countries of the Arctic Circle.
Chapter 1 focuses on the Arctic Ocean, and the following nine chapters
are devoted to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden,
Finland, Russian, and Alaska. Opening each chapter is an arresting fact
box that offers information on everything from populations to
currencies. Each chapter is presented as the journal entries of a young
Arctic student who is on a circumpolar journey with nine other students
from northern communities. The premise is that the students are on an
information-gathering mission, with the school-related nature of the
trip reinforced by the presence of a teacher-chaperone. Although
sometimes annoying, this narrative technique does not dominate the text,
and students will find the choice of topics covered in these chapters to
be both interesting and well explained.

The second half of the book comprises the reports of the students who
were on the journey in Part 1. Each student presents an extremely
thorough report on a topic related to the physical or social geography
of the Arctic region. There are reports on the Arctic climate, land,
plants, animals, peoples, and the challenges facing the region today.
Each chapter is supplemented with beautiful, carefully drawn maps and
charts. The color photographs are well reproduced. Ideas for activities
and discussions conclude each chapter.

This book would be a valuable addition to elementary- and
junior-high-school libraries, public libraries, teacher resource
centres, and Faculty of Education libraries. Highly recommended.