Hello, Arctic! [Hardcover]

Theodore Taylor (Author), Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The Arctic is more than ice and snow. As the seasons change and winter turns to spring, birds return, seals leap and splash, and polar bears are born. Childlike, rhythmic text invites us to greet the animals that come with the turn of seasons--Hello, birds! Hello, seals! Hello, cubs!--while gorgeous illustrations reveal the wondrous creatures and colors of this stirring northern land.
Theodore Taylor, the author of many bestselling novels for teens, combines talents with visionary artist Margaret Chodos-Irvine in an exhilarating celebration of the wonders of the Arctic.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his picture book debut, Taylor (The Cay) marks the cycle of seasons in one of the world's most remote locations. "Arctic winter is cold, so cold./ The northern lights flicker across the dark sky./ But now Arctic summer is coming!" Taylor begins. Chodos-Irvine's (Apple Pie Fourth of July) otherworldly prints, rendered from a variety of techniques, provide a breathtaking accompaniment. Her compositions seem as straightforward as Taylor's language, but her subtle layering of colors and shapes invites the eye to linger. In the opening spread, for instance, a lone wolf stands on the frozen tundra, gazing toward a low moon. The artist represents the landscape via an amalgam of rough-woven lines of white and ivories infiltrated by irregular, overlaid fields of beiges, blues and violets; the ground looms large and vast below the narrow slice of sky. As the temperature warms, Taylor issues a welcoming chant to the birds and flowers, while the palette brightens. A serene flock of birds undulates across the sky, its curve contrasting gently with the rolling edge of the blossoming shoreline below. Subsequent spreads dip below the surface of the ocean to reveal seals, walrus and whales. As the days grow shorter, text and illustrations circle back to the beginning. The birds fly south against a striated sunset; a polar bear and her cubs, their forms delineated chiefly by finely etched negative space, curl up in a golden heap, encircled by variegated layers of snow and ice. Immediately accessible yet meditative, the art will grip audiences on many levels. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K-The cold Arctic winter and long summer days are contrasted here. Words are kept to a minimum, while dramatic illustrations tell the story of the change of seasons as experienced by birds and other wildlife. A variety of printmaking techniques creates arresting spreads in cool shades of blue to lighter colors, reflecting the warmth and brightness of summer. A lovely choice for sharing with the very young, and a possible supplement for units on the far north.
Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152015779
• ISBN-13: 978-0152015770
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,297,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Theodore Taylor has written several award-winning books. The Cay won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and was also made into a movie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A stellar polar year, August 23, 2009

By 

E. Kennen (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hello, Arctic! (Hardcover)

In the course of a few pages, this nonfiction picture book takes us through a year of activity in the Artic. We start in the barren unknowns of the Artic winter, where an artic fox looks at a distant moon, norther lights flicker, and the polar caps begin to melt. When Arctic summer comes, so do birds, plants, polar bears, seals, and whales. Then birds migrate, bears prepare to migrate -- winter has come comes once more.

The illustations by Margaret Chodos-Irvine are full, tender, and haunting. The words, while teaching a lot about Arctic ecology, are very simple, with a good deal of repetition. This is a lovely book. However, because of its simplicity, instead of the suggested 3-7 age range, I think it is more appropriate for 2-4 year old animal lovers.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Arctic Wonderland....., February 13, 2003

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hello, Arctic! (Hardcover)

"Arctic winter is cold, so cold. The northern lights flicker across the dark sky. But now Arctic summer is coming!" So begins Theodore Taylor's engaging and simple, non-fiction picture book. The Arctic is so much more than just freezing cold, snow, and ice. Watch the seasons change. Summer arrives as the ice partially melts, the birds return, tundra flowers bloom, and the animals breed and play as the sun shines twenty-four hours a day. But then the days begin to grow shorter. Winter is coming, and the birds and animals travel south. "Wind and snow have come again. Good-bye, Arctic summer! See you next year." Mr Taylor's gentle, spare text is poetic and filled with imagery and magic. But it's Margaret Chodos-Irvine's bold and bright, animal filled artwork that really tells the story and steals the show. Each evocative, two page spread is rich in dazzling layered colors, interesting geometric shapes, and clever patterns, and little ones will want to linger and explore each captivating picture. Hello, Arctic! is a preschool crowd pleaser, perfect for story time, or as part of a unit on seasons and/or the arctic. This is children's non-fiction at its very best. Kudos to Taylor and Chodos-Irvine!