by Keltie Thomas
Firefly Books, 2023
ISBN 9780228104452 (hc)
$29.95, 80 pp, ages 9 – 13
fireflybooks.com
A revised and expanded version of the original 2018 edition, this iteration is available in softcover for about half the price.
Thomas has included information on how new locations (such as Vietnam and London, England) will likely be impacted by rising ocean levels. The information presented is often quite disturbing, with each of the eighteen subject areas being examined as they are now and what they will likely look like in the near future. Melting glaciers, changing sea currents, land subsidence, and more severe storms mean many coastal areas worldwide are threatened. But the book provides some hope. The Netherlands, for example, offers clues on how to deal with the basic problem of rising tides, and other avenues—from cutting down on CO2 emissions to sea barriers and even partial relocations—are also discussed.
Classroom Connections: The book’s illustrators (Belle Wuthrich and Kathy Boake) have done an incredible job. Each section explains where the city or region is via a map, what might occur through reference to a photo-shopped well-known landmark, and engaging text to support the illustrations. This work fits into school curricula in many jurisdictions. In Ontario, for example, climate change is dealt with in the Grade 7 Science curriculum and Grades 7/8 Geography.
Review by George Sheppard.
This review is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Winter 2024 issue.