Review Detail

My Antarctica was an interesting glimpse into one author’s adventures visiting Antarctica. Through a grant, G, Neri left his sunny home of Florida to travel to Antarctica and learn everything he could about the people, animals, and the place to write a book for kids. The mixture of real photographs and comic-style overlays on the images help transform this nonfiction book into a quirky read-along that feels like a friend telling you about a cool trip they went on. It is deeply personal as he makes a tribute to his friend who was an explorer of the Antarctic and died tragically nearly 30 years ago. He admits he wasn’t great at science in school so this isn’t a technical-heavy book but his sharing of what he learns is done in a clear and approachable way that will be of interest to others who want to see the wonders of the pristine continent.
The human-interest aspect of the book was appealing. I certainly haven’t given a lot of thought about human waste and how it all gets packed out and shipped back but it was engaging to learn about. Learning there is a gift shop, ATM, and other places of interest in the compound was almost as interesting as seeing the wildlife photos. Overall, this book captures the beautiful landscape and the unique experience the author had while leaving room for the reader to feel inspired by the possibility that one day they could also visit.