Where Is the North Pole?

Where is/are...?

by Megan Stine, Who H.Q., Robert Squier (Illustrator)

Young armchair adventurers can travel to the topmost point on the globe and learn all about the vast region surrounding the North Pole.

It might seem lonely at the top of the world, but the North Pole is teeming with life! Polar bears, walruses, and arctic seals make their home on sea ice that can be nine feet thick while the Inuit and other indigenous peoples continue their traditions and means for survival in this harsh climate. Includes the early twentieth-century story of Robert Peary's quest to reach the exact spot of the North Pole.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

112 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

Megan Stine is the Editor-in-Chief of Real U Guides and the author of more than 100 books for young readers including Trauma-Rama, an etiquette book for teenagers published by Seventeen magazine, and several titles in a series based on the popular 1990’s television series Party of Five. A frequent writer of books in the enormously popular Mary-Kate and Ashley series, she is the best-selling author of Likes Me, Likes Me Not and Instant Boyfriend. She has worked with CBS and ABC in developing comedy and drama television pilots, and has written comedy material for a well-known radio personality in New York.

When she isn’t writing, she is a portrait and fine art photographer and a contributing photographer for the Real U series of guides.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent until the last chapter and it’s one sided climate alarmism. “Scientists agree that climate change is caused by human activity.” No, not all scientists agree with that. “Scientists are worried that summer sea ice will melt completely by 2040.” Predictions like these keep having to be revised. The author uses other scare tactics about cities be buried underwater. We should definitely be good stewards of our resources, however.

[Δάσκαλος · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. The Arctic Circle—and especially the North Pole—was unknown to the Western world until the late 1890s. (p. 20)
2. But female bears can only have babies if they are fat enough. In the fall, a pregnant polar bear builds a den where she’ll give birth and live for the winter. She stays in the den for four to six months, taking care of her cubs. The babies survive on their mother’s milk. But the mother bear has nothing to eat or drink the whole time she’s in the den! (p. 32)
3. Cook also planned to use the special amber-colored goggles he had invented for mountain climbing in the Arctic. That way, no one would get snow blindness. (p. 54)
4. Magnetic north isn’t right at the North Pole. It’s a slowly moving spot near the North Pole where the magnetic forces come together. (p. 59)
5. At first, most people believed Dr. Cook. But in the end, Peary’s friends were richer and more powerful. They spread fake news about Cook and hurt his reputation. (p. 70)
6. The Arctic is getting warm faster than the rest of the planet. That’s bad because the ice is actually protecting us from global warming. How? The white ice reflects the sun’s harsh rays away from the earth. If the ice disappears, the “reflector” will be gone. Instead, we’ll just have the darker ocean water, which absorbs the sun’s heat—pulling it toward the earth. (p. 74)

[Anne Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. This is a really good book. I previously had little interest in the North Pole, but this compact book has information covering the indigenous people, the native wildlife, and the amazing rivalry of Peary and Cook vying for claim over the exploration of the region. Interesting read!

[Vani Ghanate · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read about the race to North Pole while beautifully describing the geography around it and the challenges incurred to get there. The author has tactfully woven the life of the Intuits and the wildlife of the arctic around the story of the two rivals trying to reach North Pole.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent amount of facts and a whole lot of opinion. Focus is on the race to the North Pole more than about the Arctic circle, North Pole and arctic regions themselves. Heavy handed on environmental change and end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it fears for a children’s book.

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost all of the chapters had great information about those trying to be the first to discover the North Pole. The last chapter included statements concerning climate change and what is expected to happen by 2040.

[Karthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful...any description about nature entrances me

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know anything about this Race to the Poles, so this one was very interesting.

[Olivia Upchurch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book.

[Mary Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the geography of the North Pole, its animals and indigenous people, and the competition between Scott and Peary to be the first to get there.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good summary of where the north pole is located and how it was discovered. There are many side details that help one learn about the area and the inhabitants both human and animal.

[Elexndra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library borrow this one a bit preachy

[Goddess of Chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"At the North Pole, smack in the middle of the Arctic Circle, the sun rises and sets..."

"At the North Pole, smack in the middle of the Arctic Circle, the sun rises and sets only once a year!"

This quick read uses the race to physically reach the North Pole by two individuals to explain where the North Pole is, and what life is like in that region of the world. It discusses the animals, the people, how the people lives back around1900 when this race was taking place, and how two men who started out working together ended up competing against one another.