Polar Regions: Book recommendations for children
These book recommendations cover the general geography, flora and fauna of the Arctic and Antarctica. If you are looking for books about Polar Explorers, we have a separate article covering that topic here, please do check it out!
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Picture books
Sophie Scott Goes South
Alison Lester
We really enjoyed this book about a girl visiting Antarctica with her father, who is the captain of an icebreaker ship. The book is in a diary format. There are lots of photographs and drawn illustrations, and it was a lovely way to learn about polar animals and weather, as well as what modern life on an Antarctic base is like.
The Emperor’s Egg
Martin Jenkins
This is a family favourite! It follows the life of an Emperor penguin chick from being an egg on its father’s feet, until its mother’s return from the sea. The language is simple and easy to follow, and this book is suitable for younger children, but also interesting for older ones. Some factual information is written in smaller text for older children.
The Polar Bear Family Book
Thor Larsen and Sybille Kalas
This was one of my favourite books as a child. It chronicles the first two years of life of some polar bear cubs, from their birth in a snow den, through to leaving their mother. At least half the book is taken up with beautiful colour photographs.
Arctic Son
Jean Craighead George
This book follows the experiences of a young boy living in an Inupiaq town in Alaska. There is lots of Inupiaq language, and descriptions of everyday life and culture, including the harpooning of a whale. There are large colour illustrations on every page. The community are referred to as Eskimo in this book, where today I believe Inupiaq would be the preferred term.
The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale
Lydia Dabcovich
This is a short picture book, adapted from an Inuit tale about an old woman who finds an orphaned polar bear cub and cares for it.
First Animal Encyclopedia: Polar Animals
Simon Holland
This is an information book covering polar animal life, both on land and ice, and also in the polar seas, such as whales, walruses and seals. There is also an explanation of polar migration. The information is quite detailed, so we just read one page of this book each day so as not to be overwhelmed.
A wildcard suggestion
Frozen Planet (television series)
This series is a wonderful way to explore the wildlife living in the polar regions. There is also an episode exploring the people groups who live in the Arctic. You may wish to filter out certain scenes of animals hunting each other.
Content warning: there are some gory and scary scenes of animals hunting each other (e.g. wolves hunting bison).
