Canada's Arctic Animals

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

Both well-known species (e.g., polar bear) and lesser-known ones (e.g.,
Greenland shark) are featured in this good elementary-level introduction
to nine animals found in Canada’s Arctic. There is no rationale given
for the choice of animals or for why well-known animals such as the
lemming or the snowy owl are not included.

The book is heavily illustrated, with images usually covering half of
the page. Some pages are images with text overprinted. The images are
mainly high-quality stock photography.

Each chapter is a narrative about an animal. The narratives provide
behavioural, physiological, and habitat information, as well as some
unusual details (e.g., the hooded seal can blow a red balloon out of one
of its nostrils, and a walrus can eat about 6000 clams at a time). While
the chapters are several pages long, they are sometimes missing
important facts that are usually required for elementary-school projects
(e.g., there are no facts about polar bear reproduction).

The text is written to engage young readers. There are lots of italics,
exclamation marks, and bold type for animal sounds and phrases relating
to a child’s life (e.g., “Imagine your front teeth were that big!”
“Have you ever seen a unicorn?”).

While this book is designed to complement elementary curriculum, there
is no index or glossary, which would have improved its usability.
However, it is nicely produced with good, but limited, content.
Recommended.