Learn All About Polar Bears and Their Environment
Written: Nov 10 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy to understand comprehensive writing, wonderful photographs.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: Learn all about Polar Bears in very little time, read this book that is meant for older kids but adults can learn from it as well.
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| msmorvay's Full Review: Norbert Rosing and Elizabeth Carney - Face to Face... |
When I agreed to write a submission for Jankp’s Global Warming write off http://www.epinions.com/content_5117288580, I had no idea what a challenge it would be, I thought with this topic being in the news so often and on many people’s minds that finding things to review on this subject would be easy, and though I found some, many were not in the data base. So I did some searching and found a couple of wonderful kids books, but unfortunately one of them is not currently in the data base, and I will have to request that it be added, if you are interested the title of that book is: Why Are the Ice Caps Melting? The Dangers of Global Warming, by Anne Rockwell.
Another book I found is actually about Polar Bears, but as most of us know Polar Bears are very affected by the affects of global warming, and in this book there is actually a chapter dedicated to global warming and how it is affecting the Polar Bears. This book is called Face to Face with Polar Bears, by Norbert Rosing with Elizabeth Carney.
Face to Face With Polar Bears
This book was actually put out by National Geographic so you can expect quality photos as well as informative and comprehensive information.
This book could be read by both older children, 8 and over and adults who are interested in the subject but don’t have a lot of time to read.
Norbert Rosing has kind of a passion for Polar Bears and enjoys studying them and photographing them. He has put himself at great risk in order to this at times but returns time and again to see and photograph more.
The author tells of his tales of dangerous encounters with Polar Bears. The first chapter of the book starts out with a close up picture of a polar bear attempting to tear down a safety fence placed around the campsite of the author and his wife. But when they began to cook their dinner the polar bear smelled the food and became obsessed with getting to it and starting clawing at and pushing at the safety fence.. The author and his wife had to call for helicopter help, but in the mean time the author took the time to snap a picture of the bear as it assaulted the fence, pepper spray sent the bear away to wash his eyes, but did not permanently injure him, but it did give the helicopter time to arrive and allow the two humans to make their escape.
The book also tells all about Polar bears, like how they are built to withstand, the cold, how they spend their days, what they eat, and how they hunt for prey, and why it is important for them to keep clean. Those beautiful fluffy white coats are actually kept very clean, because a cleaner coat keeps a polar bear warmer than a dirty one.
It also tells how Polar bears prepare for their young, and what they do in order to protect their babies from freezing to death.
The book also explains the environment that the bears live in. Like how in the winter it is dark for 24 hours a day. Polar bears live in the Arctic Region lies north of the Arctic Circle, about three fourths of theway up the globe from the equator. Inside this circle you will find the North Pole. This comprises the areas of the Northern-most lands of Russia, of course the State of Alaska in the United states and parts of Canada, Norway, and Denmark (Greenland). The ice in the areas most of the time are between 6 to 8 feet deep. Ocean animals swim beneath the ice. In the summer time there is actually a surprising amount of frolicking wildlife and plants and flowers.
The book also tells how explorers and photographers and others who explore and study these areas get around and keep warm.
The book also gets into what has been happening over the last 50 years as the average temperature of the arctic lands have been raised by 5 degrees. Although this might not sound like a lot to us it is enough to melt the sea ice earlier in the summer, and it takes longer to freeze up as fall arrives. This does not allow the Polar Bears enough time to hunt, eat, and build up fat, so when they return to the land they are thinner and weaker, and in danger of starving. Another problem is that the land is less plentiful and in recent years polar bears have been found dead as they had been stranded in the middle of the ocean because the ice had melted so quickly that they drowned from exhaustion trying to find their way to land, The changes in the weather have also created changes in currents, causing high winds, and waves, making it difficult for the Polar ears to swim.
Most scientists who study the area as well as natives feel that melting has been caused by the burning of fossil fuels. The book states that when these fuels send gases into the air one of the gases being carbon dioxide, the build up of carbon dioxide creates kind of a trap that heats and warms the planet. These fossil fuels come from cars, planes, and factories.
The book includes a list of things that we can all do to help. This list is actually for kids and tells them to get their parents involved.
The book also tells kids how they can study and photograph polar bears themselves, mostly through their local zoos.
There is also a couple of pages that provide facts at a glance about Polar bears, like height, weight, and Lifespan, as well as other facts.
There is also a nice glossary that explains words, and there are a lists of books, articles and web sites as well as places to visit to learn more about bears.
Throughout the book you will find many full color photographs, with captions explaining what is going on in the particular picture. You will also find quick little facts on the margins of some of the pages, you will find a paw print, with some facts and information written in a list type form.
My Thoughts
I really thought this book was excellent. The book is very informative, and the information is simple to understand and is quick and to the point, there is not a lot of fluff, but yet we learn pretty much all we need to know about Polar Bears, and the environment where they live. We also learn how they are being affected by the world’s population and what we can do to help to prevent the polar ice caps from melting even faster.
The book is meant more for older children, but I also as an adult got a lot out of reading it. I feel like I know pretty much all there is to know about Polar Bears from reading this. And I was able to read the entire book in a bout an hour, if I had read a similar book written for grown ups it probably would have taken me days, and I probably would not have learned any more than I did from this book. This would also be an excellent book for any child who has to do a paper or a report on a particular animal, if they choose to write about Polar bears.
The photographs are beautiful and full color, and you get to see what look like close up photo’s (but most likely taken with a telephoto lens), of polar bears doing many different things, such as swimming, eating, and playing.
This book is a great non intimidating book to read to learn about Polar bears, and to understand how global warming is affecting the region that they live in.
Note
This has been an entry in both Jankp’s Global Warming Write off – Please see above for the link.
This is also a late entry in Kamel622’s Epiwrimo write off, which I know I have catching up to do. Please see Kathy’s write off at: http://www.epinions.com/content_5122072708
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
msmorvay
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Rae
Location: Illinois
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