Emperor of the Ice

Scientists monitoring Emperor penguins by satellite have concluded that due to global warming, the winter ice at Halley Bay, Antarctica, cannot be trusted any longer:

‘Thousands upon thousands of emperors have disappeared’, they’ve had to move and as a consequence the Empress that features in this book will have to find a new place to raise her chick.

That’s getting ahead of things though, for what zoologist, Nicola Davies does in this second book in the Protecting the Planet series, is to interweave the alarming negative effects of climate change with a positively written, sensitive account of a year in the life of a pair of Emperor penguins raising a chick in an inhospitable environment. We learn how the female finds a mate, lays an egg and then having entrusted it to to her partner to incubate, returns to the sea for ten weeks to feed and then makes the hazardous journey back.

This story, with its effective use of metaphor, is one of resilience, but Nicola doesn’t spare readers the cruel realities facing the species: ‘But there are pools of silence’ ,,, ‘At Halley Bay, the satellite looks down onto a page that’s almost blank.’ She finishes this account by reassuring us that ‘Somewhere down there, the Empress has found a new place to raise a chick; a place where the sea ice can be trusted. … At least for now.’

Catherine Rayner’s stunningly beautiful water colour illustrations complement the narrative perfectly, providing a variety of perspectives of the Emperors’ stark environment and there’s an introduction by climate scientist and biologist Dr. Phil Trathan giving information on emperor penguins and climate change. The final double spread reiterates the vital message, explaining concisely what is meant by climate change and what we can all do to help.