Adventures in the Ice Age

Christine Linge MacDonald, a past director of the Toronto & District
Parent Co-operative Preschool Corporation and a freelance writer, is an
elementary-school teacher in Whitby.

The Binkerton kids—Josh, Emma, and their little sister Libby—are
about to embark on another wonderful adventure in history.

Taking refuge from the searing summer heat, they enter the Good Times
Travel Agency, which is run by the eccentric Mr. Pettigrew. When the
children ask for some ice, they are whisked back to the Ice Age. And
worse, they must read every word of the Guide Book before they can
return to the present. But who can read when you’re being pursued by a
cave lion?

This highly engaging adventure is presented in comic-book form, with
the factual Guide Book visible on each page. Bill Slavin’s
illustrations are realistic yet humorous, each one truly worth “a
thousand words.” As readers follow the struggling Binkertons, they
have a plot to hang on to while learning about this fascinating age. The
Guide Book assigns three tasks that must be achieved by the children
before they can leave. These tasks (“Follow the Hunt,” “Find
Art,” and “Befriend a Giant”) expose the reader to some of the
central aspects of Ice Age life. Bailey’s text is lively and
interactive: “HUNTING. Are you sure you want to go hunting? All that
blood?”

The final page of the book sorts out Ice Age facts from comic-book
fiction with the help of a map and an index. Balancing humour and
adventure against the human struggle to survive, this book educates
while it entertains. Highly recommended.