Ocean, sky, snow and ice
Minute greens and giant blues
Dance a delicate dance.
Iceberg – a picture book that takes you into another world where foot tracks show signs of life, flat topped icebergs hide worlds underneath and birds move with the season somehow knowing when the best time to leave is.
Adjectives abound to describe the frozen continent of Antarctica – a world that we barely know about because of the icy walls it places up to stop humans trespassing on it’s pristine world.
As readers – both young and old – read through this story not only will they be transported to this continent, they will also learn how language can take our minds and emotions to new places.
Iceberg – a picture book to be enjoyed – is also an excellent tool for the literacy classroom to understand how descriptive language adds so much more meaning to a setting – it moves beyond just description for our eyes but also the feelings of the soul.
With great links to Science & geography, Iceberg is an excellent addition to the classroom to link the beauty of science to the technicalities of writing.
How have you used this book in your classroom or at home?
Extra thinking ideas
- Compare Antarctica through descriptive writing to another place on this planet that humans have not conquered.
- List the animals that are described in this book and the words used to describe them. Can some of these descriptive words be used for other animals?
- If Climate change were to continue and cause more melting of icebergs – how would this book change? Write some ideas down on how the words used to describe this place would be different.
