Glaciers Are Alive

A survey of wildlife in, around, and dependent on tidewater glaciers.

Miller’s title may stretch the point, but her tally of glacial flora and fauna is quite full—ranging from pink algae and ice worms to brown bears and humpback whales. And, along with depicting them all with nearly photographic precision in his acrylic illustrations Van Zyle ably captures the rugged character and monumental scale of the frozen river as it grinds through mountains and down to tower over cold-looking arctic waters. The glacier’s exact locale isn’t specified, but a reference to Prince William Sound in the dedication and the longtime collaborators’ string of Alaska-centered picture books makes it clear enough, and along with a generous helping of glacial argot (firn ice, bergy seltzer, seracs), the author adds timely warnings about the effects and hazards of climate change on glaciers worldwide. The human hikers and boaters who put in occasional appearances are too tiny to be individualized. 

Revealing glimpses of an icy but populous natural habitat. 

— Kirkus Reviews