• Age: 7 to 10
• Grade: 1 to 5

A beautifully illustrated dictionary of 26 key aspects of life in the Arctic.

World-class photographer and science writer Wayne Lynch takes readers to one of his favorite parts of the world: the Arctic.

Using a plant, an animal or a phenomenon for each letter of the alphabet, Lynch describes the unique ways in which systems for living differ where temperature and light can be amazingly extreme. But Lynch also dispels the myth of the Arctic as a perpetually frozen landscape by introducing us to the birds, mammals, insects and plant life that thrive in the short yet glorious sun-filled days of summer.

Wildlife photographer and science writer Dr. Wayne Lynch has dedicated almost three decades to learning everything he can about these powerful mammals. In his quest for bears, he has crawled inside the winter dens of black bears and polar bears, held squirming grizzly cubs in his arms, sailed along the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, hiked the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in South America and ridden elephants through the jungles of Nepal and India.

In Bears, Bears, Bears for Kids, his engaging guide to the world's eight bear species, Lynch introduces us to the strange and wonderful natural histories of these magnificent wild animals.

For more than 40 years, Dr. Wayne Lynch has been writing about and photographing the wildlands of the world from the stark beauty of the Arctic and Antarctic to the lush rainforests of the tropics. Today, he is one of Canada's best-known and most widely published nature writers and wildlife photographers. His photo credits include hundreds of magazine covers, thousands of calendar shots, and tens of thousands of images published in over 80 countries. He is also the author/photographer of more than 45 books for children as well as over 20 highly acclaimed natural history books for adults including Windswept: A Passionate View of the Prairie Grasslands; Penguins of the World; Bears: Monarchs of the Northern Wilderness; A is for Arctic: Natural Wonders of a Polar World; Wild Birds Across the Prairies;Planet Arctic: Life at the Top of the World; The Great Northern Kingdom: Life in the Boreal Forest; Owls of the United States and Canada: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior; Penguins: The World's Coolest Birds; Galapagos: A Traveler's Introduction; A Celebration of Prairie Birds; and Bears of the North: A Year Inside Their Worlds.In 2022, he released Wildlife of the Rockies for Kids and Loons: Treasured Symbols of the North. His books have won multiple awards and have been described as "a magical combination of words and images."

Wayne Lynch's profile page

The alphabetical format is accessible, the subjects are well chosen, and the photography is first class.

School Library Journal

This entry in a limited series that offers surveys of various species in abcdedarian form focuses on the adaptations that allow the people, animals and plants that make their home in the Arctic to survive, as well as on the natural phenomena that make this such a special place, from the Aurora borealis to zooplankton. The strongest of the three titles, it defines new words, explains concepts and provides word pronunciations within the text, accompanied by stunning photographs. The length of each gloss-two to three densely set paragraphs-skews the book to older elementary students, but adept caregivers can make the photos work with younger audiences. (joint review with Insects A to Z and Birds A to Z)

Kirkus Reviews

An eclectic collection of stories about some of the most interesting phenomena and organisms encompassed by the arctic, the slender volume adds up to a fascinating portrait of life beyond the tree line. Accounts include those of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, and animals such as the narwhal. From eagles that follow grizzly bears to share in or steal food finds to the beluga whale that does not let a few inches of ice impede its movement, one account is as interesting as the next. The book makes ideal cozy-chair reading for an adult in the company of young children of multiple ages or for an independent young reader.

Science Books and Film