Icebergs and Glaciers [Paperback]

Seymour Simon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The frozen rivers and sheets of ice known as glaciers can move as slowly as a few inches a year, yet they are a powerful force shaping the earth beneath and around them. Breathtaking photographs mark this dramatic introduction to a beautiful yet frozen world of mountaintops and polar regions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps Simon's nonfiction for children is so successful because he gets readers involved in the environment around them, with both arresting and accessible facts. In this new book, he tells readers that the largest glacier ever measured is 200 miles long and 60 miles across; but it's also "bigger than the state of Vermont or the country of Belgium." And those glaciers move. Simon also covers how ice fields form and become mobile, and why they are dangerous. Readers who put icebergs and glaciers in the same category as dinosaursfrom a time long agolearn of the relatively recent tragedy of the Titanic, and that icebergs someday may be used as fresh water sources in deserts. The facts are coupled with clear, full-color photographs; the correlation between text and illustration is direct and obvious, making captions unnecessary. Simon suggests that readers take a look at landscapes around themthey may just see a place where a glacier has passed by. Ages 48.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6 This treatment of glaciers and icebergs is beautifully illustrated, and the text is clear and well-written. Simon describes the physical composition and properties of glacial ice, including new findings of how glaciers move: either by sliding on films of water or by internal flows``creeping.'' He presents facts at a basic level, without much explanation or detail, and uses fairly simple vocabulary. Every spread is illustrated with beautiful color photographs, including one computer-colored photo of Iceland that shows temperature variations. Type is large, with lots of white space. In comparison, Tangborn's Glaciers (Crowell, 1965; o.p.) is illustrated with expository drawings, has a lower vocabulary level, and discusses mostly the effects of glaciers (rather than the process). The Nixons' Glaciers (Dodd, 1980) and Robin's Glaciers and Ice Sheets (Watts, 1984), which are for older readers, have much more information. This one would almost be worth adding to collections for the spectacular illustrations alone, but Simon's lively and informative text makes the book even more impressive. Jonathan Betz-Zall, Sno-Isle Regional Library System, Marysville, Wash.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (May 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688167055
• ISBN-13: 978-0688167059
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.6 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Simon, Seymour
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Water
  • #62 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Water

More About the Author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association). His free, educational children's app, SCIENCE FUN TO GO, debuted in the Top 10 of all free children's apps in the Amazon App store, and features in app purchase of original Seymour Simon eBooks, as well as a multitude of free content.

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York. You can follow his daily nature walks and see his photographs from the field on Twitter (@seymoursimon) or on his Facebook group page. He also regularly hosts Q&As and sponsors book giveaways on GoodReads.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD BOOK FOR LATER ELEMENTARY, March 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Icebergs and Glaciers (Paperback)

This was a good book but I would not recommend it for kids ages 4-8. It was quite verbous. It was very informational, however, and a good source to use in the classroom.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simon's Sense of Icebergs and Glaciers, December 21, 2007

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Icebergs and Glaciers (Paperback)

Wouldn't it be interesting to know how Simon works? Does he accumulate all the photographs he wants, then write the text for his science books? Or, does he write his text, then collect photos? The reader knows that the photos are not his because he gives credit to the photographers on the verso/copyright page.

Also on the verso page, the Library of Congress summarizes the book: "Discusses the formation, movement, and different types of glaciers and icebergs, and describes their effect on the world around them." Yes, Simon does, he does exactly that, but in a much friendlier voice.

On page 3 (page 2 being a full-page photo of Antartica at midnight in the middle of summer), Simon begins: "For most of us, spring means the return of warm weather." He describes the thawing process, where it is cold and icy and snow-covered in the world, defines "snow line," then concludes the page with: "It is in the constantly cold lands and above the snow line that glaciers are born." Does it give you chill bumps?

Simon's development of ideas and writing skills are finely crafted together, orderly, logically, using vocabulary conducive to understanding. Amazon's description of the book rates it for ages 4-8, an obviously inaccurate assessment. Simon's books like these are more for ages 8-12 (or above or below depending on interest). Orderly means beginning with snowflakes, on to blue ice and solid ice, then an ice field sixty feet deep. "Then something strange happens. The huge mass of ice begins to move" (p. 6) and an explanation of sliding on melt water or creeping glaciers. Fast glaciers, slow glaciers, dangers of crevices, devastation of glaciers, rock flour, moraines, avalanches, and that's just half of the 42-page book.

I like my mind boggled from time to time. How are these facts for mind-boggling? The largest glacier in Antartica is larger than the United States, Mexico, and Central America combined. The depth of this ice sheet is 15,000 feet, or ten Empire State Buildings stacked one on top of the other.

Simon nearly always concludes with ecology in the forefront of our minds. He describes the effects of glaciers on the earth in the four to ten ice ages since the beginning of the earth. He concludes with the overall effect of global warming--and this was written in 1987 when we were just beginning to become concerned. My goodness, what would he say now?

This book is highly recommended for school library collections and parents who want their children to know about our planet Earth. After all, we all live here.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Marvelous Wonder of Nature., December 8, 2006

By 

Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Icebergs and Glaciers (Paperback)

Icebergs are made up of freshwater, formed over centuries from snowfall which didn't melt. Over time, they are compressed into ice. The majestic glaciers did not form from the oceans surrounding them, which are salt water. Icebergs are the chunks which broke off from the high glaciers and gloat out to sea.

Pack Ice is composed totally of saltwater and composes ninety-five percent of the ice found in the oceans of th polar regions. Pack ice drifts on the surface of the sea and a single piece is known as a floe. On the beaches there are hugh mounds of saltwater ice joined to freshwater ice. It is thought that the Artic winds push the pack ine to the shore where it gets contained. Though the ocean and the seas are made up of saltwater, the icebergs and glaciers are composed of freshwater ice. An amazing phenonomon from Mother Nature.