Survival at 40 Below

From School Library Journal Grade 3–5—Miller describes the terrain of Alaska's Gates of the Arctic National Park and explains how the seasonal changes affect a diverse array of animals—birds, fish, insects, and mammals—that live in the area year-round. Frozen frogs, hibernating ground squirrels, and even woolly bear caterpillars are among the smaller animals joining the larger musk oxen, polar bears, and caribou. Dall sheep, arctic foxes, and grizzly bear are shown as they adapt variously to the extreme climate. Van Zyle's acrylic paintings span the spreads, offering good impressionistic views of varied landscapes and fauna. In some scenes, the animals described in the accompanying narrative are hard to spot or not shown at all. The text moves smoothly and quickly, offering interesting glimpses of varied hibernation patterns and the physical characteristics enabling some animals to survive winter's deep chill aboveground. The closing author's note mentions the creeping changes with global warming. A chart of record high and low temperatures illustrates a really impressive range for each of the 12 months. The glossary includes "shivering" but nowhere is "tundra" defined, though it occurs several times in the text. Sketchy maps of Alaska and the park are set against a snowy mountain on the end pages. A good introduction to the diversity of the region's wildlife.—