Pole to Pole
Title | Pole to Pole |
Author | Pamela Freeman |
Illustrator | Philip Blythe |
Published by | Koala Books |
Date of Publication | 2000 |
Teaching Resources
- The second-last page of Pole to Pole has an pictorial index of all the animals shown with their common names. Students can use this as a jumping off point for further research.
- The writing in this book is deliberately lyrical rather than informative. Find some informative texts about Arctic or Antarctic animals and compare the language to that used in Pole to Pole. This can be a useful exercise for understanding persuasive writing. Ask students to look for the use of adjectives, adverbs, rhythm, imagery, selection of facts. Find some unusual verbs which add atmosphere to the text.
- Ask students to select a particular habitat and to write a lyrical description of it which will form part of a brochure persuading people to give money to a wildlife fund. OR
- Ask students to select a particular animal and write a lyrical piece persuading people to help support that animal in a zoo.
- Philip Blythe's pictures are the real star of this book. What is the relationship of image to words? Develop visual literacy by asking students to analyse a single double-page spread. Look at: allocation of space; design elements (eg the curving section in which the text sits, the fonts used, the map elements, the use of the tern as a linking item); colour; and content. Which carries most information, words or text? (Note: the answer to this may be different from page to page.) Ask students to also think about point of view: where are we as we are looking at the picture (for example, in Sharing the Sky page the viewer is level with the birds in the sky, but in Smallest of All the viewer is down level with the ground, while in The Great Southern Ocean we are looking down slightly). Why did the artist choose these positions for the viewer?
- Many of the habitats described in Pole to Pole are under threat from global warming or habitat destruction by humans. Pick one habitat and research the threats to it.
- Movies such as Happy Feet and March of the Penguins have anthropomorphized penguins (that is, made them out to be like humans). Is this a good thing? Discuss.
- Compare the static image of the muskox in Wild and wily with the fluid and graceful image of the sea mammals in Tusks and fur. How has the artist achieved the different effects? Choose an animal and try to draw it both still and in motion.