North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration

by Nick Dowson, Patrick Benson (Illustrator)

Overview

“A treat for middle-graders of an ecological bent.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

At the top of our world is a huge wild place called the Arctic. In the winter, it is a cold and barren land, where few animals can survive. But when spring comes, it attracts animals from every corner of the earth. This lushly illustrated picture book celebrates the resilient wildlife and barren, beautiful landscapes of the Arctic Circle, tracing the awe-inspiring spring migration of millions of creatures to the Arctic and reminding the reader of the hardships and harmony of life in the wild.
Back matter includes additional information about the arctic, a glossary, and an index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763666637
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/10/2013
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	461,617
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	920L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Nick Dowson is the author of TRACKS OF A PANDA and TIGRESS. A teacher and naturalist, he lives in Suffolk, England.

Patrick Benson has received the Mother Goose Award, the Christopher Award, and the Kurt Maschler Award. He has collaborated with Roald Dahl, Russell Hoban, and Martin Waddell, whose book OWL BABIES has sold 12 million copies. Patrick Benson lives in Scotland.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This striking account of arctic migration offers a northerly, book-bound counterpart to "March of the Penguins." Dowson’s descriptions are both simple and poetic, as polar bears, gray whales, jaegers, snow geese and pregnant caribou make their way from points south toward the North Pole in Benson’s sumptuous, shimmery paintings. Appropriately oversize considering its vast majesty, this book will inspire in young readers an equally outsize sense of wonder.
—The New York Times

Simple but effective, this is a beautiful introduction to a remarkable region that should encourage any child's sense of wonder.
—Kirkus Reviews

Dowson's poetic text and Benson's impressionistic watercolors introduce seasonal changes as well as various birds, mammals, and even fish that undertake the long migration. The spare text and expansive views provide an inviting sense of the terrain and the journeys endured by the animals...an attractive entry in the growing number of nonfiction poetry picture books, offering rich read-aloud and browsing opportunities.
—School Library Journal

The text has an appealing delicacy, with a touch of lyricism... Benson’s detailed illustrations in watercolor, pencil, and pen move easily from subtlety to grandeur; while the draftsmanship is softly realistic, the imagination behind them brings the natural world to vivid life.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Editorial Reviews

This striking account of arctic migration offers a northerly, book-bound counterpart to “March of the Penguins.” Dowson’s descriptions are both simple and poetic, as polar bears, gray whales, jaegers, snow geese and pregnant caribou make their way from points south toward the North Pole in Benson’s sumptuous, shimmery paintings. Appropriately oversize considering its vast majesty, this book will inspire in young readers an equally outsize sense of wonder.
—The New York Times

Simple but effective, this is a beautiful introduction to a remarkable region that should encourage any child's sense of wonder.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Dowson's poetic text and Benson's impressionistic watercolors introduce seasonal changes as well as various birds, mammals, and even fish that undertake the long migration. The spare text and expansive views provide an inviting sense of the terrain and the journeys endured by the animals...an attractive entry in the growing number of nonfiction poetry picture books, offering rich read-aloud and browsing opportunities.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

The text has an appealing delicacy, with a touch of lyricism... Benson’s detailed illustrations in watercolor, pencil, and pen move easily from subtlety to grandeur; while the draftsmanship is softly realistic, the imagination behind them brings the natural world to vivid life.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Dowson combines sound knowledge of his subjects with thoughtful lyricism; Benson's lovely spreads, a mix of panels and full-bleed spreads, are a testament to the wonder of the migratory instinct.
—Publishers Weekly

Benson's luminous watercolor with pen and pencil illustrations, spread out beautifully over the oversized pages, capture the harsh conditions of the icy Arctic winters, the fleeting verdancy of the tundra in mid-summer, and the graceful movements of the migrating groups as they pass through lower latitude forests, oceans, and skies. Particularly powerful are the contrasts between the illustrations of polar bears alone in the vast open spaces of early spring and those showing the teeming life and activity in high season.
—Horn Book

Award winning illustrator Patrick Benson captures the beautiful landscapes and the harsh environment these great animals endure as they migrate. This book will certainly take you on what the author states as, "The greatest journey on earth!"
—Library Media Connection

Dowson invites 7- to 12-year-olds to wonder at the desolate splendor of the northern realms and to marvel at the mystery of migration that draws millions of creatures there from across the globe every summer... Benson depicts these creatures, and the Arctic's spare beauty, with dramatic illustrations in pen, pencil and watercolor that brim with beautiful blues, browns, grays and pale yellows.
—Wall Street Journal

The lovely spreads both below and above water evoke the alternately lush and stark beauty of the Arctic.
—Natural History Magazine

From the Publisher

Appropriately oversize considering its vast majesty, this book will inspire in young readers an equally outsize sense of wonder.
—The New York Times Book Review

Pamela Paul

Few animals can survive the harsh Arctic winter, but in the spring, many species migrate northward. Benson uses a subtle palette of slate blues and copper tones, the generously scaled spreads emphasizing onward motion as terns soar and compete for fish, and a gray whale travels from Mexico, past the Golden Gate Bridge, and to the Arctic Circle. Dowson combines sound knowledge of his subjects with thoughtful lyricism (“After spawning, this silver herring shoal heads north to feed on clouds of blooming plankton”); Benson’s lovely spreads, a mix of panels and full-bleed spreads, are a testament to the wonder of the migratory instinct. Ages 7–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3–6—Polar bears and just a few other animals—fox, musk ox, and arctic hare—are year-round residents of the far north. "But when spring comes,/bringing back the sun/with light and warmth./the Arctic changes." Animals from many parts of the world begin an annual trek northward to give birth to their young. Narwhal whales, "strange as fairy tales," swim, as do the blubbery walrus and even the Canadian caribou for part of the journey. Other creatures fly or walk. Dowson's poetic text and Benson's impressionistic watercolors introduce seasonal changes as well as various birds, mammals, and even fish that undertake the long migration. The spare text and expansive views provide an inviting sense of the terrain and the journeys endured by the animals. Fine soft pencil work shapes and shades scenes softly lighted in gold, muted green, and aquamarine tones. Set in columns of blank verse, the narrative sometimes appears in black type in a white column or running through a scene and on other pages in white letters framed on shiny aqua. Lovely wordless spreads create pauses in the evocative account. The book is an attractive entry in the growing number of nonfiction poetry picture books, offering rich read-aloud and browsing opportunities.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

School Library Journal

In the dark Arctic winters, few species can survive, but in short, lush summers, millions of animals return to reproduce. This combination of lyrical prose and striking illustrations conveys the mystery and magic of the far North and the cycle of darkness and rebirth that includes some astonishing migratory journeys. Dowson's examples come from all over the world: Atlantic and Pacific whales, terns and jaegers from South America, godwits from New Zealand and cranes from China as well as Canadian caribou. His simple, poetic text is set alongside or between Benson's ink, pencil and watercolor paintings, done in icy blues, grays and greens. The creatures are clearly identifiable but often seen through water or snow or from afar, against vast landscapes. Usually there are many, in schools, herds, flocks--this is an emptiness that teems with life for a short while. Six spreads have no text at all, encouraging contemplation and reflection. The backmatter locates the Arctic Ocean and ice cap in Asia, North America and Europe with both text and a map, and the illustrator has included two Atlantic-centered images of Earth from space that dramatize the extent of these journeys. Simple but effective, this is a beautiful introduction to a remarkable region that should encourage any child's sense of wonder. (index) (Informational picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews