A FOR ANTARCTICA
by Jonathan Chester & photographed by Jonathan Chester
A pastiche of full-color photographs, some quite wonderful, that do not make a coherent alphabetical listing. Captions are far above reading and comprehension levels of the usual ABC audience, but older children will be frustrated by the entries' terseness and will come away with unanswered questions, i.e., Why does the midsummer sky stay light for 24 hours a day? On the ``Cc'' page alone: What is the man doing on the ladder spanning the crevasse? What is the magnetic pole? How does a ``sun compass'' work? Why are the Antarctic ``oases'' permanently free of snow and ice? The caption for a rocky peak projecting above the icecap, a ``nunatak,'' identifies this as an Inuit name, which, without explanation, implies that Inuit inhabit the Antarctic. A few of the pictures are inadequate, as well; the Hourglass Dolphin, photographed from above the water surface, is a vague shape; the picture labelled ``Fossils'' shows a man searching a rocky slope. There are no maps to help place the locales and geographic features mentioned. Recommended only for those in need of pictorial material on this region. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)