An iceberg shears from a glacier and begins a journey that takes it through Antarctica’s seasons.

Follow the iceberg in the spring as it watches penguins trek across the ice to their winter homes and senses krill stirring underneath the ice. With summer comes more life: the iceberg sees humpback whales spiral and orca gather. And the iceberg moves too, ever shrinking as the sun softens its edges and undersea currents wash it from below. When autumn arrives with cooling temperatures, the sea changes and the iceberg is trapped in the ice for the winter freeze. Then spring returns and the iceberg drifts into a sheltered bay and falls, at the end of its life cycle.

But if you think this is the end of the journey, look closer — out in the ocean, an iceberg shears from a glacier and settles to the sea, beginning the process anew. Ocean, sky, snow and ice dance a delicate dance in this evocative portrayal of the life cycle of an iceberg.

The poetic text and beautiful illustrations make this a unique nonfiction offering for young readers. This book ends with an author’s note explaining the effects of climate change on the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as a map and a glossary.

Key Text Features

additional information

author’s note

glossary

map

gatefold

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.4
Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

CLAIRE SAXBY attended many schools around Australia before studying in Melbourne to become a podiatrist. For several years she worked in community health while simultaneously writing for children. Claire's work has won several awards including CBCA Honour Book, a NSW Premier's Literary Award, a SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, an Environment Award for Children's Literature, an Educational Publishing Award and the Whitley Award multiple times. She works part-time in a bookshop and lives in Victoria, Australia.

Claire Saxby's profile page

JESS RACKLYEFT creates a variety of illustrated things — picture books, paintings, prints, pins and cards — mainly in watercolors. She worked in publishing sales for almost a decade before making the leap to full-time illustration work, and since then has won several illustration accolades including two CBCA Notable Picture Book of the Year awards. Her work can now be found in bookshops and libraries across Australia. Jess lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Jess Racklyeft's profile page

Poetic depictions of a newly calved iceberg across the seasons characterize Saxby's witness to abundant Antarctic biodiversity.

Publishers Weekly

The watercolor illustrations aptly capture both glistening, sunshine-filled days and the dark mysteries of the depths … [A] handsome offering.

Booklist

Each illustration in this book is a work of art, accompanied by a wonderfully descriptive narrative.

Calgary Herald

An evocative view of a timelessly ancient natural cycle.

Kirkus Reviews

Saxby's prose is poetic and easy to follow ... Racklyeft has brought such vibrancy to a land that we often associate with being desolate. Teaming with wildlife, both Saxby and Racklyeft bring so much wonder to the Antarctic.

Cloud Lake Literary

From the very endpapers which set the mood with their soft blues and greys to the lyrical text with its rich vocabulary, Iceberg: A Life in Seasons is 'quiet' yet powerful.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials